City Shadows Arc 1: 13 Coins
by Zephyros-Phoenix
Summary: COMPLETE - Sequel to Apple, DragoxOC, OCxOC. After the events in San Francisco, Mala leaves for Los Angeles and goes back to school to start over. However, the peace she hoped for is far from near when she discovers her classmate is a demon! Soon Mala is dragged into a wild adventure with new friends and the Dark Chi Wizard Daolon Wong all while dealing Drago's return.
1. New Student

**Well it's here! The sequel to my JCA story and the next installment of Mala's adventures! Yay! Now, this story is a collaboration, meaning that it is being made and written by myself and my partner Dingo-Sniper. This story brings our two groups of character together for what we hope to be an awesome adventure that you'll all enjoy reading.**

**In case you need it, here is some quick information of D-Sniper's characters:**

**-Linos: hybrid son of Shadow Demon Sorcerer Tzan Ren and Sound Demon Sorceress Hsian Ji, likes humans and their culture, hunts evil demons, alias Liam  
>-Tim Knight: Linos' best friend and the first to know his secret, very smart, hacker<br>-Mavis Callahan: Linos' LI, mythology and supernatural nut, easily excitable and eccentric**

**I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, only my characters. D-Sniper owns his character and we both own this story and it's plot. **

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><p>The bell rang as the mass of students flooded into classrooms, each taking their seat as their day of classes began. Two boys sat in the row of desks next to the window as a girl with short orange hair in cute, low pigtails sat down behind them.<p>

"So guys, did you hear about what happened in San Francisco?" she asked as they turned around in their seats to face her.

"Of course we have, Mavis, it's all everyone at school's been talking about!" replied the boy sitting in front of her. He had light brown hair that came down to just above his shoulders and wore blue glasses.

"Well Tim, everyone keeps saying that it was a meteor shower, but I don't buy it! What do you think Liam?" she asked the boy sitting in front of Tim.

"Mavis is right," Liam started.

"Yes!" Mavis exclaimed with an energetic fist pump as Liam continued speaking.

"I saw some of the footage from the news and there's no way a meteor shower caused that much damage. And I did feel a strong disturbance around the same time it all happened."

"Disturbance? Like a magical disturbance?" Tim asked.

"Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't natural. If I had to bet, I would say a demon was responsible."

"You don't think any demons would be coming here, do you?" asked Tim.

"Because that would be awesome," Mavis interjected.

"No, Mavis, it really wouldn't."

"Hm, it's tough to say. From what I could see, it didn't look like any demons made it out of the city; otherwise, there would be a trail of destruction for us to follow. But I suggest we keep an eye out for anything suspicious just in case."

"Class, settle down! Settle down!" the teacher called as the classroom chatter hushed into a silence. "All right, students, today we have a new student joining our class. Please welcome Mala Reid!" the teacher held out her hand and waved to signal the new student to enter the classroom. In walked a pale-skinned girl with long brown hair and dark red eyes. When she reached the center of the front of classroom, she timidly tucked a strand of her hair behind her right ear before shyly clutching the books in her arms. "Don't be shy. Introduce yourself!" encouraged the teacher.

"Uh, well, I'm Mala… Mala Reid, but you already knew that," she nervously added.

"Anything else?" the teacher asked.

"No, that's it!" Mala insisted.

"Well, all right then. Take a seat at the back next to Mavis," the teacher instructed.

Mala scanned the back of the room trying to find this "Mavis" that the teacher neglected to point out to her, but Mala was saved from further awkwardness when the pigtailed girl ecstatically waved her arms. Mala swiftly made her way to the back of the classroom and took the empty seat next to Mavis as the teacher began her lesson.

"Hi!" Mavis whispered loudly, "I'm Mavis Callahan!"

"Oh, hello," Mala timidly answered, surprised by Mavis suddenly talking. "I'm Mala, nice to meet you." Mavis stuck out her hand as Mala gently took it as they shook.

"So what's your schedule like?" Mavis asked, seizing Mala's schedule before she could even answer. "Awesome, we have almost every class together!" she exclaimed.

"Miss Callahan, need I remind you that there is no talking during class?" the teacher asked.

"Sorry," Mavis muttered, handing Mala's schedule back to her. When class finally ended, the students flooded out of the room into the hallways. "I'll see you guys at lunch!" Mavis shouted to Liam and Tim as they left for their class in the opposite direction. "Hey, Mala, wait up!"

Mala stopped when she heard her name being called. "Oh, hi Mavis, so we have biology together right?" she asked, pulling out her schedule.

"Yeah, it's right down the hall," Mavis replied, pointing with her finger to a classroom ahead of them. "So what school did you go to before here?"

"Uh, I actually dropped out of school a couple years back after my dad died. I needed to work to make money for rent and everything."

"Whoa, what about your mom?" Mavis asked.

"My mom? Oh, well she left us a long time ago. I haven't seen her since," Mala lamented.

"Oh… that sucks," Mavis said sadly. "So where'd you live before you came here?"

"San Francisco," Mala answered.

"You lived in San Francisco?!" Mavis gasped dramatically.

"Uh… yes?"

"Then did you know what happened when the whole city nearly got destroyed? The news reports keep saying it was a 'meteor shower'," she said in a mocking tone with air quotes, "but I don't buy it!"

"Um, no. Sorry I don't know anything about it. I left the city a few days before it happened."

"Aw…" Mavis said sadly. "So why did you come to L.A.? Wait, am I asking too many questions? I've been told I can be a bit eccentric."

Mala chuckled. "No, it's all right. I guess I'm just not used to the attention. I didn't have a lot of friends growing up."

"Well, I find that hard to believe! You're doing a great job at it! So if you don't mind me asking, why'd you leave San Francisco?"

"I uh, just needed some distance. I got into a fight with my, uh, boyfriend and we broke up."

"Oooh, what happened?"

"Well, I thought we wanted the same thing, but it turned out that we wanted very different things. He just wasn't the person I used to know and I couldn't forgive him for lying to me."

"Ouch, what'd he lie about?"

"I'd actually prefer not to get into that. Is that all right, Mavis?"

"Of course! Well, Mala, you may be the fresh meat here and you may not have had a lot of friends at your old school, but you've got one now!" Mavis exclaimed gleefully while wrapping her arm affectionately around Mala's neck.

"Thanks, Mavis. That really means a lot," she replied with a light chuckle.

"And two more when we get to lunch!"

"What do you mean?" Mala asked.

"Oh, Tim and Liam, the two guys sitting in front of me back in our first class. You'll meet them when we have lunch together."

The next few classes progressed quickly and Mala and Mavis made their way to the cafeteria as quickly as they could. Apparently the cafeteria was serving pizza, which according to Mavis was one of the few good things the school served. "We have to get their early," she had insisted, "otherwise all the good slices will be gone!"

"So, where do you guys usually sit?" Mala asked as she scanned the full cafeteria. "It doesn't look like there's a lot of room left."

"Yeah, we don't usually sit in here. It's far too loud and the school bullies always come over to make fun of the nerds and, well, me."

"What? Why would they make fun of you?"

"Around here, they call me 'Crazy Mavy'. It's actually quite clever if you ask me. But the reason for that is because I'm a bit of a mythology nut. Dragons, monsters, spirits, you name it! Oh and demons too!"

"D-demons?" Mala asked nervously.

"Yeah! You know what happened in San Francisco? I'm betting it was demons and not a stupid meteor shower like everyone keeps saying," she whispered seriously.

"Mavis, you really are crazy," Mala said sarcastically with a light chuckle.

"I know!" she chirped. "Come on, we usually eat out here by the football field." Mavis led her to the large football field right outside the cafeteria and she could see two boys sitting on the bleachers with lunch trays next to them. "Hey guys!" Mavis greeted.

"Hey Mavis! Ah, I see you brought the new girl! Mala, right?" Liam asked.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you two," Mala replied.

"Tim," Tim introduced as he and Mala shook hands.

"Tim," Mala repeated so she would remember, "and…"

"Liam," he finished. Just as their hands met to shake, both of their eyes widened and they quickly pulled away. Liam jumped back and pulled Mavis and Tim along with him, spilling their trays of food onto the bleachers.

"Liam, what'd you do that for?" Mavis whined.

"Yeah, what gives?" Tim asked.

Liam didn't answer. Instead his eyes locked with Mala, who met his gaze with an equally serious and intense one. "Get back, guys! Our new classmate is a demon!"

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><p><strong>Well, that was the first chapter of many more to come! Stay tuned if you want more!<strong>

**Next Chapter - Throwdown: Mala and Linos engage in battle, believing each other to be an evil demon. **

**Cheers, ZP**


	2. Throwdown

**Yay! Another chapter! I certainly hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I'm certainly enjoying writing. If you want to know more about Linos, Mavis and Tim, I do suggest reading Dingo-Sniper's story "Two Sides of the Same Coin". It can be found on his deviantart page under his username "Dingo-Sniper". It' not mandatory, but if you want to get a better idea of D-Sniper's crew, I highly recommend it. Plus, this is like a joint sequel to both our stories anyway. **

**As usual, I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, only my characters. Linos, Mavis and Tim belong to Ding-Sniper. **

**Also, just a note on timeline. Since the original show ran from 2000-05 for 5 season, D-Sniper and I are going along the basis that each season took place within a year. By that we mean, season 1 took place in 2000, season 2 in 2001, and so on. So, since this is just after when season 5 would have occurred, this story is set in 2005. **

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><p>"Get back, guys! Our new classmate is a demon!" Liam yelled as he gently pushed his friends behind him and held his arms out to the side, protectively shielding them.<p>

"What? That's crazy!" cried Mavis.

"How can you tell?" Tim asked.

"I can sense when demons are near, but when they're in a human disguise, it shields their demonic aura. But if I happen to make physical contact with them," Liam explained, eyeing Mala suspiciously, "my sense bypasses that shield. The only thing is it works both ways."

"I can't believe this. This was supposed to be just a normal school with normal people all… normal!" Mala despaired.

"How did you find me? Are you here to avenge my father?" Liam asked.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Of course you don't!" Liam shot his hand forward, sending out a shadow tendril towards Mala. She brought her arms up to block the attack, but the force of the blow knocked her back onto the bleachers.

"Liam, wait! She doesn't even look like a demon!" Mala protested, grabbing Liam's arm.

"Neither do I," he argued.

"Liam has a point. Demons can assume human form and he has the ability to sense nearby ones," Tim added.

"But she's my new best friend! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a best girlfriend in this school who's okay with all of this?" Mavis shouted, gesturing to herself.

All of a sudden before Liam could answer, he was thrown back with an incredible force and slammed right into the railings on the side of the bleachers. Mavis and Tim turned to see a large light pink, crystal rabbit with bright red eyes standing before them, its large paw extended out right where Liam just stood a few seconds ago.

"I think that just about proves it," Tim added. They looked around the rabbit and saw Mala standing up, her entire body being encased in dark purple, dark blue, pink and teal crystalline armour. Her skin turned pale blue, her hair turned white and formed into a long, floating ponytail as he eyes grew larger and glowed the same menacing red that Liam's did.

"Oh, that is awesome," Mavis breathed. Tim grabbed the hood of her sweater as they ran across the bleachers to their friend, who lay slouched against the railing. The metal railing of the bleachers was bent all the way out from the force of Liam's impact, but Liam himself was unharmed.

"Come on, big guy," Tim heaved, lifting Liam to his feet with Mavis.

"She means business. Time to take this up a notch!" Black shadows consumed him as Liam transformed into his demon form. His skin was brown and he stood nearly half a head taller than in his human form. His hair grew wild and changed to dark brown as two little horns sprouted from his head. His ears became long and pointed as his chest, shoulders, forearms and waist became covered in light armour. Large light brown wings sprouted from his back. "Stay back, guys," he said, his voice much deeper with a noticeable flanging effect, "I'll take care of this demon." Linos dashed forward to engage the crystal rabbit and Mala.

"Aw, he gets all the fun," Mavis complained, crossing her arms.

"Come on, Crazy Mavy," Tim teased, dragging her off the bleachers and away from the football field.

Linos folded his wings around his body to shield himself from the rabbit's swift punches. He quickly opened them, knocking the rabbit off its feet. He wrapped a shadow tendril around its ankle and spun, flinging the rabbit off into the distance.

"Pearl!" Mala shouted, watching her rabbit soar.

"Now that your little guardian's out of the way, we can settle this fairly!"

"I wasn't aware demons cared about fair odds. It was my understanding that demons took whatever advantage they could, the more unfair the better! And Pearl will make it back to me; she always does. But she's not my only guardian." Mala waved her hands as five light blue, crystal wolves formed alongside her.

"Ooh, she can make wolves!"

Linos looked to his right and saw Mavis peeking out from behind a nearby tree. "Mavis!" he chided.

"Sorry!"

The wolves charged on him while he was distracted, though he managed to fight them off. Linos opened his mouth wide and let out a sonic scream, shattering the wolves into little pieces. Seeing this, Mala quickly took to the skies to avoid being hit by the scream herself.

Linos took off after her and tried to get in close, but Mala conjured wave after wave of crystal shards that she fired at him. He avoided each one, but made no progress in getting closer to her. Mala waved her hands again, this time summoning her purple crystal crows. They took off in different directions and struck Linos one after another. He tried to open his mouth and destroy them with a scream, but each time he was about to let it out, another crow would dive in and strike him. Instead, he formed twin shadow blades in his hands and sliced the crystal crows as they dove onto him.

"That all you got?" he taunted. He flew to with his swords to Mala as she floated over the gym. He slashed her with his swords, but her entire body suddenly turned into blue crystal and shattered before him. "What the?"

Linos had no time to finish his thought when Mala dove from high up right behind him and kicked him in the back, sending him plummeting to the ground and through the gym roof. He landed roughly on the gym floor, splintering the wood and creating a large impact crater. Mala came through the hole he made in the roof and landed softly on the floor.

"Why? Why can't you demons just leave me alone?" she shouted.

"Leave you alone? I've had demons gunning for me since I got here! You're the ones who won't leave me alone!" Linos argued.

"I didn't come here for you! I didn't even know you were a demon until we shook hands!"

"I find that hard to believe!" Linos wrapped his shadow tendrils around Mala and tossed her through the wall. She narrowly missed the few students in the hallway she tumbled through, destroying parts of the ceiling and floor before she finally came to a stop. Linos glided through the hallway after her, but crashed right into the crystal wall she formed between them. "Clever," he muttered, bringing out his twin shadow blades.

"I certainly thought so," Mala replied, extending her crystal claws. Their weapons clashed time and time as students around them evacuated the school, taking care to avoid the two fighting demons while also trying their best to capture the event on their phones.

The two clashed a final time before freezing when they heard the familiar sound of sirens. "Cops!" they both cried.

"I can't go through all of this again! I have to get out of here!" Mala wailed.

"You're not going anywhere!"

"Yes, I am," she answered, before suddenly disappearing from his sight.

He looked around sporadically, but saw no sign of her. "Dammit!" he cursed before disappearing into the shadows to find Tim and Mavis. He finally found them far off from the crowd of their fellow students who had been gathered in the field next to the school parking lot, the school's designated emergency meeting zone. He came out of the shadow's behind one of the cars in the parking lot, well out of sight, before running up to Mavis and Tim.

"So what happened? Where's Mala?" asked Mavis.

"She bailed as soon as the cops showed up. It was like she just turned invisible. I would've thought she'd just tear through them; demons don't retreat, especially not from humans."

"Ooooh, she can turn invisible?" Mavis cried, her eyes widening in amazement.

"Mavis, focus. That does sound more like something a human would do. Do you know where she went?" Tim asked.

"No, either she's out of range or she's back in her human form. Either way, I can't pick her up," Liam answered.

"I still can't believe this. I finally get a best girlfriend and she turns out to be a demon… and you chase her away!" Mavis shouted.

"What? Mavis, she was a demon!"

"Well, so are you! Besides, we all know how excellent a judge of character I am. Remember when I knew something was up the minute your dad tried to pass himself off as you?"

"She does have a point," Tim said.

"You're not helping, Tim."

"Just hear me out. I spent the whole day with her and honestly, she didn't seem demonic. If anything, she was scared and paranoid, and very nervous about fitting it."

"Mavis…" Liam groaned.

"You know, she may have a point."

"Don't encourage her, Tim," Liam warned.

"Now, now, we both know you're one in a million, Liam. You're a demon, yes, but you're nothing like the Demon Sorcerers or your father. You like humans and you're not violent. Maybe it's not that crazy to consider that there can be two in a million."

"All right," Liam conceded, "so then we track her down and figure out her deal and go from there. And if she turns out to be evil then, well, we all know the drill."

"But how do we find her? Liam can't sense her now and L.A. is a big city!" Mavis exclaimed.

Tim sighed. "You know, sometimes you two just overthink things." Tim took out his laptop, sat on the ground and began typing away.

"What'cha doing?" Mavis asked as he and Liam hunched over Tim's laptop to see what he was doing.

"I'm hacking into the school's system to retrieve her student records. It'll have her personal information and her address. Back when Liam joined the school, I hacked their system to input some information to make his cover story more believable. Annnnnd, here we go! She doesn't live that far from here, in fact."

"Well let's get going," Liam said.

"Wait hold on," Tim said, halting Liam. "Let's take a lot at what else the school has on her. Born June 21st, 1988; father: Jasper Reid, deceased; mother: Lana Reid, contact unavailable."

"Ok, so she was born here and she has parents," Mavis commented. Tim brought up an image of Jasper and Lana. Jasper had short, neat brown hair and dark brown eyes while Lana had long blonde hair, red eyes and pale skin just like Mala's. "Wow, she looks a lot like them."

"They could be adoptive and the information could be falsified," Liam said.

"Yeah but what are the chances she's as good a hacker as me?" asked Tim.

"You realize we were just discussing the possibility of another nice demon, right?" asked Mavis.

"Point taken," Tim said.

"Let's go check out that address. She might try to skip town after this," said Liam. They made their way to the address listed in Mala's school information and found a small apartment building on a small front door was gated and only residents with a key could enter.

"I'm guessing we're not going to buzz?" Mavis asked, pointing to the call button.

"No need." Liam walked up to the gate and formed a small key-shaped shadow in his hand. He moved it into the keyhole and twisted his hand around, trying to shape the shadow key to fit the lock. The gate unlocked with a _click!_ and Liam pulled it open.

"I wish I knew how to pick locks," Mavis muttered as Liam held the door open for her and Tim.

"Ok, this is the one," Tim said as they gathered around the apartment door.

"So, do we just knock?" asked Mavis.

"I guess so," Liam said, knocking on the door three times. A few seconds later they heard the lock click and the door swung open.

Mala gasped and quickly tried to shut the door, but a shadow tendril held it open. "Wh-what are you doing here? How did you find me?" she asked, frighteningly backing away as Liam, Mavis and Tim came through the door.

"Computers," Tim answered.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because you're a demon and I need to know what kind of demon you are." Shadows formed in Liam's hands as Mala's left arm crystallized into her demon form in response.

"Ok, he could have worded that better. What we want to know is: are you a nice demon or a bad demon?" Mavis asked, coming between them.

Pearl suddenly appeared before them, standing protectively in front of Mala as Liam tensed. "She won't attack you unless you try to hurt me, like you did on the bleachers," she said with strong resentment.

"Ok! Cards on the table! Tim and I? Normal humans! Liam? His real name is Linos and he is a demon, but he likes humans and is our friend."

"Mavis!" Liam scolded.

"What? Your way was getting us nowhere! She's not going to trust us if you get all threateny on her!"

"Yeah Liam, just put away the shadow swords right now," Tim agreed. Liam sighed and complied.

"Ok, so I guess our first question is: did you know I'm a demon?" Liam asked.

"No! I never even knew you before today!" Mala answered.

"Then where did you come from?" Tim asked.

"I was born here, on earth. My father was human and my mother is a demon."

"That would make you half-demon and," Liam started.

"Half-human," Mala finished.

"Demon-human hybrids, is that even possible?" Mavis asked.

"I've never met a demon-human hybrid before, but they're not unheard of. Demon Sorcerers don't take kindly to mingling with humans, but that doesn't mean it never happens. And when demons assume a human form, they, uh, get all the 'parts' too," Liam explained.

Mavis and Tim stared at him blankly before suddenly realizing what he meant with a "Oooohh."

"I'm not evil," she swore, "I just want a normal life."

"Wait, you said you came here from San Francisco, right? Did you have anything to do with what happened there?" Tim asked.

"Yes," Mala answered, hanging her head low. "But it's not what you think! Mavis, remember when I was telling you about why I left San Francisco? I got into a fight with my 'boyfriend'? Well, that's the extremely condensed version of it."

"But you helped whatever caused that?" Liam asked.

"Up until that point, yes. But, I was under the impression we were doing it for a different purpose, something good. I went back to stop him before I left the city. What about you? How do I know you're not an evil demon?"

"Duh! I have human friends!" Liam answered, gesturing to Mavis and Tim.

"You attacked me!"

"I thought you were an evil demon!"

"All right, all right!" Mavis shouted. "What Liam is trying to say," she started, shooting him a glare that would rival his own demonic one, "is that he made a mistake and is sorry. Right, Liam?"

Liam sighed and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I judged you because you were a demon and I made a mistake. So I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Mala replied.

"Great, now let's get down to business! The three of us are really nice once you get to know us and we promise we'll keep your secret! Soooooo, will you be our friend?" Mavis asked.

"Huh? Y-you still want me to be your friend after all of this?"

"Might as well. Us 'nice demons' need to stick together," Liam added.

"Yeah! Please, oh please say you'll be our friend. More importantly, please say you'll be my best friend, please please please! You're pretty, nice, cool and the only girl in school who hasn't called me a weirdo or made some snarky remark about how I'm being stupid - which technically I'm not since as well all know, demons are a real thing - but I'm getting off topic. Please say you'll be our friend! We'll be super nice and Liam will never attack you again! Please!" Mavis wailed.

"Ok, ok, all right! I'll be your friend, just stop all of… this," Mala answered.

"Yay! Woohoo! I've got a best friend and she's a demon!" Mavis cheered, taking Mala's hands in hers as she danced around in a circle, dragging Mala along with her.

"Yes, she's always like this," Tim said when Mala sent him an inquisitive and confused look.

"She never cheered like that when she found out I was a demon…" Liam muttered.

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><p><strong>I hope you guys liked it! I had a lot of fun typing out this fight scene and even more fun writing Mavis. Honestly, I think she's our favourite part of the story right now XD<strong>

**Getting to Know You: Mala gets to know her new friends as the group discovers there is more to this mysterious coin that Mavis found a while back than meets the eye.**


	3. Closed for Repairs

**Well here's the next chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!**

**I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures. Any canon characters, concepts of events that originally appeared in Jackie Chan Adventures is property of the show's creators. This story and it's characters belong to Zephyros-Phoenix and Dingo-Sniper.**

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><p>Mala almost couldn't remember what happened last night. But after she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she began to recall everything: her demon classmate Linos, their huge fight through the school building and Linos, better known in his human guise as "Liam", coming to her doorstep with his human friends Tim and Mavis and, to her own surprise, becoming friends! She almost couldn't believe that there was another demon out there like her. For so long she thought that Drago was the only other like her - a demon that wasn't like any of the Demon Sorcerers. But clearly, she had been wrong about him.<p>

And as for Linos… He was a full demon, not an ounce of human blood in him. And yet, he liked humans. His two best friends were humans! And as far as Mala could tell, Linos wasn't using any demon magic to influence them. To top it off, the three of them wanted to be her friends! It was almost too good to be true and for a moment, Mala thought it was. She spent the whole night trying to find some loophole or any logical reason that this could be a trick of some kind, but everything seemed to check out. For the most part, there wasn't any reason for her not to trust them.

"Crap!" she cursed, noticing the time. She was late for school and it was only her second day! She decided to skip breakfast to save some time before rushing to her door.

"Hi!" Mala jumped back in surprised when she saw Liam, Mavis and Tim on the other side of her door while Mavis grinned wildly.

"What are you guys doing here? I was just about to head to school. We're going to be late," she fretted.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that," Liam said casually, as he, Tim and Mavis entered her apartment and sat on her couch in the lounge room.

"Why not?" Mala asked, confused.

"Didn't you hear? School's closed!" Mavis grinned wildly.

"What? Why?"

"Why do you think? The two of you did do a lot of property damage to the school. They shut down the whole campus for repairs for two weeks," Tim explained.

"Oh man, I can't believe we nearly destroyed the school! I can't go through this again!" Mala groaned.

"Mala, relax. Nobody got hurt and nobody knows those two demons were us," Liam said. "It'll be fine. It's even better that our demon forms look nothing like our human forms."

"And you don't have to worry about it getting online. I spent all of last night searching for videos, screenshots, any visuals to do with yesterday and erased it all," Tim said proudly.

"What? How?"

"He's like a wizard with computers!" informed Mavis.

"So then if school's closed for two weeks, what do we do?" Mala asked.

"Well, the teachers are emailing out assignment sheets, textbook readings and instructions for us while the school is closed," Tim explained.

"So it's kinda like we still have school, but without being stuck in a boring building for seven hours a day," said Mavis.

"So why did you guys come over here?" Mala asked.

"You're our friend now! Friends hang out," Liam said.

"Oh, ok. So what should we do then?" Mala asked.

"Oh, I know! How about you show us some more of your powers?" Mavis asked, leaning in super close to Mala, forcing the half-demon girl to lean back a bit.

"Uh…"

"Please? Your demon form is so cool and I bet you can do a lot of things with crystals!" she exclaimed, looking at Mala with big, bright eyes.

"Well, I was born with Crystal Demon Chi; it lets me manipulate crystals and anything with a crystalline structure. I can generate crystals from nothing," Mala explained, forming small crystal shards that floated in her palms.

"Cool," Mavis said with wide eyes staring at the crystals. "What about those wolves and birds the other day? And the giant rabbit that punched Liam in the face!"

"I'm right here," Liam commented.

"Oh, those are my sentient crystals."

"Sentient? You mean free-thinking crystals?" asked Tim.

"Yes, like Pearl here. I give them their shape, but they can move and think on their own. Demon Sorcerers can't normally create sentient constructs, but my human half gives me the ability to do it."

"Whoa, Liam can you do anything like that?" Tim asked.

"I doubt it. Full demon over here," he said, casually pointing to himself with his thumb.

"Well, you aren't like other Demon Sorcerers. It's a slim chance, but you might be able to given how much you actually like humans," Mala said. She looked over to Mavis who stared intently at Pearl, who had moved onto Mala's lap as she spoke. "You can touch her if you want."

"Huh?" Mavis' head snapped up. "Oh, sweet." Mavis bit her lip nervously as she slowly reached out to touch the crystal rabbit. "Whoa, she's so smooth! What else can you do?"

"Uh, well I can fly," Mala started.

"Which is cool," interrupted Mavis.

"Hey, I can fly too!" Liam protested.

"Yeah, but your wings are part of your body. She has to make her wings… right?"

"Yes, that's correct. I can also redirect external energy. I, uh, got struck by lightning once in my demon form and I was able to redirect the electrical energy through my body. It still hurt like hell though," she quickly added.

"That is awesome," Mavis chirped.

"So what about you Liam, or Linos, or whatever you wish to be called? What can you do?" Mala asked.

"Liam is human alias, Linos is the name my parents gave me. Well, my father is the Shadow Demon Sorcerer and my mother is the Sound Demon Sorceress, so I've got both of their powers," he answered.

"Tzan Ren and Hsian Ji? So you're a hybrid then?"

"Whoa, how did you know his parents' names?" Tim asked.

"Names of Demon Sorcerers is common knowledge. Every Chi Wizard apprentice is required to know all the demons, their elements and methods of defeat," she explained.

"Chi Wizard apprentices?" Mavis asked, in confusion.

"Chi Wizards are sorcerers who use spells to combat demons and other forces of darkness," Mala said.

"They're basically like the super heroes to Demon Sorcerers," Liam added.

"Ok, first you're a demon and now you're a Chi Wizard? This just keeps getting better!" Mavis exclaimed with a wide grin.

"Well, apprentice technically. Unfortunately, I'm never going to be able to reach the level of Chi Wizard."

"How come?" asked Tim.

"My father was a master Chi Wizard. When I was a kid, I always wanted to be one just like him so he started teaching me. But when we found out my mother was really a demon in disguise, we both realized that I could never be a Chi Wizard."

"I don't get it," Mavis said bluntly.

"The majority of Chi Wizardry is built around the repulsion and/or destruction of demons and other dark forces. Even though Mala has human blood in her and even though she's not evil like other demons, spells won't discriminate. If she were to utilize a spell intended to repel or destroy a demon attacking her, the spell would end up affecting her as well because she is part demon, even if she is the caster," Liam explained.

"Exactly," Mala concurred.

"So almost anything you try to do would end up rebounding on you then?" Tim asked.

"Yes. I was upset when my father told me I couldn't be a Chi Wizard and why, but I got over it a long time ago," Mala said with a small smile. "I still know all the theory though, like spell ingredients and procedures. I even have all of my dad's old spell books."

"Wow… hey, wanna see something cool?" Mavis asked.

"Uh, sure?" Mala answered, unsure. Mavis got up from the couch and stood on the top of the back frame. "What are you-" Mala started asking, just as Mavis began leaning back and fell towards the ground. "Mavis!" Suddenly, at the last second, Mavis flipped onto her hands and feet. "…what?"

"I know right? Cool, huh?" Mavis beamed.

"Should I understand what's going on?" Mala asked Tim and Liam.

"Ok, Mavis, you can stop showing off now," said Liam.

"Yeah, just tell her already," added Tim.

"Spoil sports," she muttered. "Ok, ok, check this out," Mavis dug her hand into glove and pulled out a silver coin, flicking it to Mala who caught it in her hands.

"It's a coin…" Mala commented, "with a cat emblem." Mala held the coin between her thumb and index finger, examining the coin.

"She found it a few months back and hasn't let it out of her sight since," said Tim.

"It's definitely magical. I could sense a magical aura around it the first time I saw it," Liam said.

"He's right, this isn't any ordinary coin," Mala added.

"Yeah, we kinda established that the first time I accidentally used it," Mavis grinned.

"Mobility of the cat," Mala muttered.

"What?" Mavis, Tim and Liam all asked in unison.

"That's what it says here: 'mobility of the cat'," Mala replied, gesturing to the small inscription on the reverse side of the coin.

"Wait, you can read that?" Mavis cried, seizing the coin back to see the inscription for herself.

"Yeah, another thing dad taught me. It seems to me that the inscription on the back side of the coin explains what the coin does."

"Mobility of the cat. It makes sense. Every time Mavis has fallen, she always lands on her feet, kinda like a cat," said Tim.

"Hm, this emblem looks very familiar to me. Hang on a second," Mala stood from the couch and moved to the bookshelf. She scanned the books before pulling one of the thick, leather-bound books off the shelf. She came back to her seat on the couch and lay the book open on the coffee table.

"So which book is this?" Tim asked, adjusting his glasses as he leaned in for a closer look.

"History of magical objects," Mala answered. "Volume 1. Ah, here it is. Looks a lot like this coin, doesn't it?"

Mavis placed the coin on the page next to the image. "They're practically identical! What does it say?"

"Ok, according to this book, there was a Chi Wizard long ago that created thirteen mystical coins in an attempt to recreate the twelve talismans of the zodiac."

"Talimans of the zodiac?" Tim asked.

"A long time ago when demons ruled this world, Shen Du, the Fire Demon Sorcerer was one of the worst. A Chi Wizard by the name of Lo Pei defeated him by turning his body into stone. All of Shen Du's powers manifested themselves as twelve talismans, each holding one of his powers and each emblazoned with the sigil of an animal from the Chinese zodiac," Liam explained.

"That's right," Mala agreed.

"How did you know that, Liam?" asked Mavis.

"Every demon knows the story of Shen Du's greatest defeat."

"Yeah, he may be bad by human standards, but compared to other demons, he's a big wimp," Mala added.

"Hey, didn't he have a kid? Half-human I think? He must be around our age, shouldn't he?" Liam asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't know," Mala said hesitantly. "Anyway, according to this book, a Chi Wizard tried to copy what Lo Pei did to create the Talismans. It wasn't the exact same process, since he didn't have a demon whose powers he could separate, but he did end up with something." Mala flipped the book outward so the others could see the image on the page. "Thirteen mystical coins each emblazoned with an animal sigil and each holding a unique power."

"So, anyone up for starting a coin collection?" Tim asked with a cheeky grin. "You know? A different one from the one that I have?"

"You can't honestly be suggesting that we actually look for the other twelve coins?" Liam asked.

"It's crazy… I love it!" Mavis grinned.

"I dunno, these coins could be scattered across the entire globe! They could be at the bottom of the ocean or frozen inside an iceberg up in the Arctic!" Mala argued.

"But wouldn't it be so cool to see what all the other coins do?" Mavis asked.

"Not to mention how dangerous they could be in the wrong hands," Tim added.

* * *

><p>"Ah, finally. It took forever to get me back to my own time! But now I am free of those wretched, melding Chans. Now let us see what is going on with the mystical," the old man mumbled some incoherent words as an image formed in the liquid of the cauldron in front of him. The image of thirteen coins appeared, flashing from one to another as he closely analyzes the animal sigils. "Ah, the thirteen coins, most excellent. Just as powerful as that dragon's twelve talismans, maybe even more powerful! And even better! They're not in the same city as those damned Chans. With these coins in my hands, nothing will stand in the way of Daolon Wong!"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>And we have our villain! That's right, the villain we're bringing in is none other than Daolon Wong! He was a personal favorite of mine and in our opinion, the best candidate for the villain of this story. We had considered creating a new villain entirely, but we felt since the protagonists were all pretty much characters of our own making, that it would be best to choose a pre-existing villain. Plus, it helps keep the story in the JCA world, you know?<strong>


	4. Callahan's Four

**Here's another chapter guys! I'll admit, I was a little worried about reactions to us bringing in Daolon Wong as our villain, but I'm glad the reception so far has been positive ^_^**

**This story and it's characters belong to Zephyros-Phoenix and Dingo-Sniper. Jackie Chan Adventures and anything originally from the cartoon series belongs to the show's creators.**

* * *

><p>"And as you can see, students, archaeologists were able to recover these artifacts and they are now on display here!" the teacher announced as she led the students through the museum.<p>

"Well, school may be closed, but it's nice that they didn't cancel the field trip to the museum," Tim commented, gazing at a display case as he walked by.

"Yeah, 'nice' isn't the word I'd use to describe this experience, Tim," Mavis sang in a bored tone before sighing heavily.

"Aw, it's not that bad. They've got a decent cafe near the entrance," Mala added.

"Yeah, but they don't let you bring anything in past the reception desk! What's the point of having good food when you can't even bring it in with you? Museums are so boring," Mavis complained.

"You could at least look at some of the display cases, Mavis. You might find something you like," Tim remarked. The students broke off into their own little groups and wandered around the museum after the teacher dismissed them from the tour. They weren't allowed to leave yet, but they were allowed to walk around the museum on their own.

"Ok, so what are we supposed to do with this assignment again?" Liam asked, walking up to Mala while holding up their assignment sheet.

"Well, I guess we're supposed to pick one of the display cases and write a short essay on the artifacts they contain. So, is there a reason you've been keeping such a close eye on me all day?" Mala asked.

"Am I that obvious? Ok, I'm just still a little suspicious, but can you blame me? New student turns out to be a demon - a good demon - and becomes our friend."

"Well, I won't lie, I've been a bit suspicious too. I mean, the last demon I trusted lied to me and deceived me. And he was my friend! I guess I'm still a little on edge," she replied.

"Ok, cards on the table, my parents banished me to this world because of how interested I was in humans. They said if I loved humans so much, I might as well live with those 'vermin'. Honestly, it was the best thing they could have ever done for me. But then my old man decided that I was a 'stain' on our family's bloodline - his exact words - and thought it would be best to remove me from it. Tim and Mavis are my best friends and I'd do anything to protect them."

"I know I haven't known them as long as you have, but I like them and care about them too. I wouldn't do anything to hurt them," Mala said sincerely.

"And I believe you, at least, that's what my gut is telling me. Well, I told you my story, so will you tell me yours?" Liam asked.

"Well, my mother came to this world to get close to my father so she could learn his Chi Wizard secrets. When my father found out she was a demon, he banished her back to the Netherworld and raised me on his own. After he passed away, I had to start looking out for myself. For the longest time, I tried to forget the demon part of me. I tried so hard to push that half down so deep that it would never come back up."

"So what happened with this friend of yours?"

"He came to me asking for my help. He told me that what he was doing was going towards creating a world just for half-demons, for people like him and me and I believed him. By the time I figured out what he was really planning… well, I helped put a stop to him. So if I seem a little distant or hesitant about trusting you, there's a strong chance that it has to do with the fact someone I thought was my friend betrayed me," she answered sadly.

"He wasn't just a friend, was he?"

Mala's head shot up, her eyes wide in surprise. "No," she whispered. "He was so much more to me, which made it hurt all the more when he lied to me. You don't need to worry about me betraying the group or anything. I know all to well how it feels to be betrayed by someone you thought you knew."

Liam put a consoling hand on Mala's shoulder. "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore. You've got good friends here that would do anything to help you."

"Thanks. You know, my mother once told me that I could never trust a demon," Mala mentioned.

"Smart woman. But I think you should be concerned with what you think. Do you trust me?" Liam asked.

Mala thought for a moment before answering, "Yeah, I do. You're not trying to make a pass at me, are you?"

"What? N-no! …What?" he asked a second time in a flustered shock. "N-no, no, I-I'm more into hyperactive and energetic girls with an obsession for the supernatural," he said with a nervous cough.

Mala looked over to Mavis, who was working on her assignment with Tim, "Ah, I see. Well, I think you two would be cute together."

"Guys! Guys, get over here!" Mavis shouted, earning a stern look from their teacher, to which Mavis quickly replied, "Sorry." But as soon as the teacher turned around, Mavis casually rolled her eyes.

Mala and Liam rushed over to Mavis and Tim. "What is it?" Liam asked.

"Check this out!" she exclaimed, gesturing to the display case in front of them.

"What, did you actually find something you like?" Mala asked.

"More like I found something we all could be interested in."

"Whoa, is that-" Liam started.

"One of the Coins? We think so. It's around the same shape and has a similar animal sigil on it, not to mention that it doesn't look like any of the other coins in this display case," Tim said.

Mavis dug into her glove and pulled out her Cat Coin and held it up to the display case. "They look similar. What are the odds, right?"

"Well," Tim began.

"That was rhetorical!" Mavis interjected.

"Did that history volume have any details on what the other animal sigils were?" Tim asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Most information gets transferred by word of mouth from wizard to wizard. My guess is that the author never actually saw the Coins with his own eyes and only heard about how they were made," Mala replied.

"Well, Coin or not, we should probably take it just to be sure," Liam said.

"Yeah, not a good idea in broad daylight while the museum is full of visitors," Tim pointed out.

"Then we come back at night and break in. Simple as that," Liam chirped.

"Ok, let's just clear something up here, you're suggesting that we come back at night to break into a museum patrolled by guards, monitored by security cameras and protected by state-of-the-art alarm systems?" Tim asked.

"Was that not clear?" Liam asked. "Was that not clear?" he repeated to Mavis and Mala, unsure.

"It seemed pretty straightforward to me," Mala said. "Plus, it's not like we'll be able to get the Coin any other way."

"Not to mention fulfilling one of my lifelong dreams of robbing a museum. Oh, it'll be like Ocean's Eleven when George Clooney and his team broke into that casino vault! We'll be… Callahan's Four!"

"Callahan's Four?" Tim asked.

"Callahan's Four," Mavis affirmed. "Hey, you two get your demon powers, Tim's a genius, I need something of my own! So, I'm officially in charge of the team name and operation names!"

"Wait, you're making a team name? Why do we need a team name?" Mala asked.

"Who's going to even be calling us by a team name?" Liam added.

"Because we just need a team name! Plus, it's cool! Don't you dare take this away from me!" she warned.

"Uh ok, you can be in charge of names," Liam calmly assured her.

"You're damn right I can! So, what's the plan?"

"Isn't that what you're doing?" Mala asked.

"Noooo, I'm in charge of names. You're the smart one and the two demons who know all about this magic stuff. So? What's the plan?"

* * *

><p>"Ok, this coffee place is open until midnight. Mavis and I will stay here while you two infiltrate the museum after closing time," Tim said to Liam and Mala.<p>

"Aw, how come I have to stay here?" Mavis whined.

"Because unlike Liam and Mala, you don't have an obvious disguise. They won't be recognized in their demon forms so its better for them to go," Tim answered as Mavis pouted heavily. "Ok, I can hack the museum's security systems from here, but I'll only be able to shut them off for a minute or so, so you have to be quick. Once you're inside, I can loop security camera footage so you don't have to worry about being spotted. All you have to worry about is any security guards patrolling the museum and tripping an alarm in the Coin's display case."

"Operation: Callahan's Four! is a go!" Mavis chirped.

"Gotcha, we'll be careful," Liam said. He and Mala made their way out of the cafe and ducked into a dark alley to quickly change into their demon forms. "So, front door or back entrance?"

"Probably best if we go through the back entrance," Mala said.

"Good call." They made their way to the back entrance of the museum. "Locked door, not a problem." Linos bent down and held his hand over the bottom of the door as a shadow tendril crept underneath. A second later, they heard the door click and he pushed it open. "Easy peasy lemon squeesy. Mavis taught me that one," Linos said with a smirk.

"Let's get in and get that Coin. We have to be careful about any guards wandering around," Mala warned.

"Man, this place is kinda creepy at night," Liam commented. They slowly crept through the museum when they suddenly saw a light at the end of the hall. "A guard! Quick hide!"

Mala disappeared from sight while Linos dove into the shadow of a display case. The guard passed by them, shining the light on the display case as he went before moving down the hall and disappearing around the corner.

"That was close," Linos said, coming out of the shadows. "Hey, Mala, where'd you go?"

"I'm right here," she replied, instantly appearing before him.

"Right, I forgot you could do that."

"I can bend light off my crystals to make it look like I'm invisible," she replied with a smile.

"Ok yeah, that is pretty cool," he admitted.

"Thanks. Come on, the display case should be right over here."

"So, should we just break the glass?" Linos asked as they stood in front of the display case.

"No! Are you crazy, you could trigger an alarm!" Mala argued, holding her arms out to stop him. "Why do boys always insist on doings things with their fists?"

"What's the problem? Tim can just hack it."

"And what if he can't? He was only able to shut down the perimeter alarms for a minute and a high end security system for a museum is nothing like a high school's computer security."

"Ok, you've got a point, but how else are we going to get the Coin out of there?" he asked.

"Well, I have an idea." Mala flicked her wrist and her fingertips sparkled. She placed her fingertips against the glass and twisted her wrist, cutting a circle right into the glass.

"Whoa, how are you doing that?" he asked.

"Diamond is a crystal, so I can control it. Besides, this may be old school, but it'll keep the alarms from going off." She pulled her hand back, holding the circle she cut out between her fingers. "Think you can help me out with this part?"

"You got it." Linos waved his hand as a shadow tendril crept into the hole Mala cut before wrapping tightly around the Coin. "Score another Coin for us! What are you doing?"

"Making sure people don't know we were here." She clenched her other hand into a fist as a faint light radiated from it. When she opened her palm, an exact duplicate of the Coin lay in her hand. "Here, put this in the display case."

Linos obeyed and used a shadow tendril to place the duplicate into the display case. "Won't they be able to tell it's fake? I mean, it looks real enough to me, but it's still just made a crystal."

"It'll fool everyone else long enough until someone gets close enough to touch it. And by then, we'll have had the Coin for weeks!" Mala replied, placing the glass circle back into place and sealing the cracks.

All of a sudden, red lights flashed across the museum as a blisteringly loud alarm rang through the halls. "What did you do!" Linos shouted over the alarm as he covered his sensitive ears.

"That wasn't me! I swear!" Mala shouted back. They heard an explosion near the front entrance of the museum as the alarms died down. "What was that?"

"Not sure. Let's check it out!" They dashed towards the museum lobby and saw two security guards on the ground unconscious.

"Heh, wretched humans, always getting in the way," said the old man standing in the doorway that had been blasted open.

"Who is that?" Linos asked.

"I don't know… but I'm picking up a very strong magical presence from him, a very dark one too," Mala said.

"Oh, what's this? A pair of demons? Most unexpected."

"Who are you?" Linos shouted.

"I am Daolon Wong, one of the most powerful Dark Chi Wizards in the world!" Wong narrowed his eyes at Linos, "And you have something that belongs to me!" Wong raised his arm as the end of his staff lit up.

Linos felt his hand being pulled forward as Wong tried to use his magic to pull the Coin towards him. "I don't think so!" Linos opened his mouth wide and let out a loud sonic scream that blasted Wong right into the street.

"Looks like Tim was right. If there's people like a Dark Chi Wizard who want these Coins, we better hurry up and collect them," said Mala.

"What's going on?" Mavis asked, as the pairs regrouped outside.

"We got the Coin, but we ran into a speed bump," said Linos, gesturing to Wong in the street.

"He said his name was Daolon Wong, a Dark Chi Wizard," Mala said.

"Well, that sounds rather straightforward," Tim commented. "I'm guessing he wants the Coin?"

"Yeah, and we can't let him take it!" Linos shouted. He leapt into the air and sent a swarm of shadow tendrils rushing towards Wong.

Wong muttered something as a swirl of dark clouds surrounded him and dark energy shout out towards Linos. It struck him in the chest and sent him crashing to the ground, where he landed with a loud crash on a parked car, triggering it's alarm.

"Linos!" Mavis shouted in worry.

"I'm fine!" he said, jumping off the car. "This guy's tough."

"Of course he is. Dark Chi Wizards resort to dark magic to gain their power rather than hard work like normal Chi Wizards. See if you can activate the Coin; it might help out!" Mala rushed forward and fired a few crystal shards towards him. He tried to hit her with the same dark energy he hit Linos with, but Mala blocked it with a quickly raised crystal barrier.

"Ugh, when will you annoying children quit meddling with my plans!" Wong shouted in annoyance.

"Pearl, I need a hand!" Mala shouted. Pearl leapt over her to engage Wong and dealt a swift punch into the old man's stomach. He fell back but quickly fired another spell at Pearl, knocking her back to the intersection. "Pearl!" Mala cried in worry. She turned to Linos and shouted, "Have you figured it out yet?"

"It's active, but it's not doing anything!" he shouted back, looking at the Coin in his hand as the bat sigil glowed. "Oh, forget this!" Linos barked. He flew down towards Wong and let out another sonic scream, pushing the old man back and shattering some of Mala's crystals. "Let's go while he's down!" he shouted as he picked up the sound of sirens in the distance. Linos picked up Mavis and Tim in either of his arms while Mala retrieved Pearl and they flew off into the night.

* * *

><p>"I knew I should have gone in with you guys! Who the hell was that?" Mavis shouted as she plopped down onto Mala's couch.<p>

"Daolon Wong, a very famous and very dangerous Dark Chi Wizard. If he's after the Coins, then it can't be for a good reason," said Mala.

"Ok, so he's the bad guy, simple enough," said Tim. "If he was at the museum for the Coin, then there's a chance we could run into him again."

"Yeah, but we'll just kick his butt!" Mavis declared, punching her fist.

"It's not that simple, Mavis. The only way to fight a Dark Chi Wizard is with a Chi Wizard of our own!" Mala pointed out.

"You can do that, can't you?" Liam asked.

"I can't! Potential rebound, remember? If I were to fight Daolon Wong as a Chi Wizard, I'd have to use spells designed to repel evil and they'd end up hitting me too."

"Then we'll need a Chi Wizard of our own, someone you can teach," Liam said as his eyes drifted over to Tim.

"Uh, why are you two looking at me?" Tim asked.

"Come on, Tim! It makes perfect sense! You're the smartest one here and you work the hardest at everything!" Liam exclaimed.

"But that's for school assignments and projects, not spells for fighting evil wizards!" Tim protested. "And I don't know the first thing about Chi Wizardry."

"Then we'll have to get started," Mala said, dropping a thick book on Tim's lap. "My father taught me everything there is no know about Chi Wizardry and I can teach it all to you."

"Come on, Tim, you know this is the only logical choice," Liam said.

"All right," Tim sighed in defeat, "let's do it." He opened the thick cover of the book and began reading through the passages.

"Aw yeah! The Coin Crusaders have a Chi Wizard!" Mavis cheered.

"Coin Crusaders?" Liam asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Not good? I'm still having trouble with a team name. I'll keep thinking about it," Mavis replied meekly.

"So now that we've got that covered, how are we going to be able to find the other Coins? We won't be lucky like tonight where we just happened to come across it?" Tim asked.

"Hm, I might be able to formulate a spell that will let us track any Coins within in vicinity," Mala replied. "It should let us know when a Coin has appeared and give us an idea of where it'll be."

"Speaking of Coins, have you figured out what that Bat one does yet?" Liam asked. "I tried using it when we were fighting Wong, but I didn't feel any different."

"There might be a reason for there. Based on the inscriptions, it seems the Bat Coin grants the user the power of super hearing and a sonic scream," said Mala.

"That would explain why it didn't work for you, Liam. You already have those powers!" Mavis realized.

"One more thing, now that we know somebody else wants the Coins, how can we make sure he doesn't come after the ones we already have?" Tim asked. "Perhaps we could use this shielding spell here that this chapter describes the mask the magical aura the Coins emit?"

"Holy crap, Tim! You're already halfway through the book!" Mavis exclaimed in wide-eyed amazement.

"I'm a fast reader," he casually commented with a little smirk.

"And a natural Chi apprentice. That is a good idea. Shielding spells are simple and I have a few of the ingredients already," Mala said.

"Ok, we'll leave the Coins with you for now so you can get that shielding spell going," said Liam. "Mavis."

"Aw, ok. Goodbye my sweet, sweet Coin. Mommy will miss you," Mavis whimpered, planting a big kiss on the cat sigil of the coin before sadly handing it to Mala.

"Don't worry, Mavis, you can have your… uh 'baby', after I put a shielding spell on them," Mala assured her.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter! God, Mavis is so damn fun to write!<strong>

**Next Chapter: The Hunter and the Master - The group encounter a newcomer in LA, a vicious and powerful demon Hunter named Remington Ryder all while they try to find the next coin.**


	5. The Hunter and the Master

**Yay! Another chapter! I had most of this written up like last week, but I had to postpone posting it because of an assignment for school that was due today. But here it is!**

**Also, Mavis is turning out to be a quick crowd favorite. XD I'm not surprised, writing Mavis is one of my favorite parts about writing the story!**

**I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures. This story and it's characters belong to Zephyros-Phoenix and Dingo-Sniper. Any canon characters or events mentioned in the story belong to the creators of JCA.**

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><p>"Man that was a great movie!" Mavis exclaimed as the four of them exited the movie theatre. "Was that a great movie or what?"<p>

"The effects were decent, as was the humour," Tim commented, "Although, I didn't much care for excessive fart jokes."

"It went along a little longer than I thought. I didn't think it would finish so late," Mala said, looking at the clock on her phone.

"You got something to do tomorrow morning?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, I'm planning to go around to a few jewelry stores and sell them some of my custom made pieces."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa… whoa, you make jewelry?" Mavis asked, coming to a sudden stop and stuck her face right in front of Mala's.

"Yeah. How do you think I'm able to pay for my apartment and tuition?"

"You know, I was meaning to ask that," Mavis said to herself, casually tapping her chin with her index finger.

"That's actually quite smart: taking advantage of your natural abilities to maintain a steady income," Tim commented.

"I usually only go to the jewelry stores once every week. Some of them will buy one or two things I make, but others aren't usually interested in buy jewelry made by a teenager. Everything else I just sell online at my website."

"Man, I wish I could make money like that. But the last time I checked, there isn't really something I can do with Shadow and Sound Demon Chi to make money with," Liam commented.

"Where do you live, Liam?" Mala asked.

"Right over there," he said, pointing to an old clock tower in the distance.

"You live in a clock tower?"

"I used to live in one of those abandoned warehouse buildings down by the harbour, but it kinda got destroyed. So I moved into the clock tower. It's much closer to the city, it's a great vantage point, I can see the entire city in all directions and the damn thing is so old people are almost never there."

"Hey, we can cut through this alley for a shortcut!" Mavis exclaimed.

"Um, Mavis, that alley is really dark. What if someone jumps out and tries to attack us?" Tim asked.

"Relax Tim," Liam said, giving his friend a mild pat on the back, "What could possibly go wrong?"

They entered the dimly lit alley as Tim nervously clung to his friend. One of the alley lights suddenly flickered before going off completely. "Well, that's reassuring," Tim commented. They were almost near the end when three figures suddenly stepped in front of them, blocking their way to the exit.

"Well, hey there kids, nice night for a stroll, eh?" said the man standing in the center. His voice was low and gritty that would send shivers down anyone's spine. He pulled out a knife and flashed it to the teens. "So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Give us all yer cash and valuables and no one gets hurt."

"I don't think so," Liam said as he narrowed his eyes to the thug and crossed his arms defiantly.

"You asked for it, kid!" the man charged towards Liam, holding out his knife to stab him, but Liam quickly moved to the side and stuck out his foot. The thug tripped and landed face first into the dirt before rolling down the alley.

"Hey!" shouted one of the other men. He ran towards Liam, ready to get him from behind, but Liam whirled around and grabbed the man's shirt collar and lifted him off the ground. "You picked the wrong person to mug," Liam grinned as his eyes began glowing a bright red. He roughly pushed his attacker to the ground as dark shadows swirled around him and Liam changed into his demon form.

"AAHHH! MONSTER!" the man shouted. He scrambled to his feet and took off with the third man.

"Heh, chicken," Linos muttered with a vicious grin.

"Hey!" Mala cried as the leader Linos had tripped earlier roughly seized her arm. "Big mistake!" Mala knocked the man off her with her thick tail and he fell back onto the ground. Mala changed into her demon form in a flash of white light and waved her arm, sending a row of crystals shards right at the man's feet. He wailed in fright as he scrambled to his feet and took off to the other end of the alley, nearly tripping as he went.

"That… was awesome. Did you see their faces when you turned into demons? They were like 'AAAAAAHHH' and you guys were like 'heh, you picked the wrong person to mug'," Mavis declared as she did her best to imitate the thug and Linos' voice.

"Well, I think that's enough craziness for one night, don't you guys think so?" Tim asked.

"Demons! I should have known this city would be plagued by them!" The four of them looked up to the roof of one of the buildings that formed the alley and saw a dark figure standing above them. It jumped down and flawlessly landed in front of them.

"Ok buddy, who are you supposed to be?" Linos asked, standing in front of his friends. The figure stepped out into the light, revealing a young man with pale skin, messy black hair, green eyes and covered head to toe in armour as a black scarf trailed down his neck. "You're just a kid! What are you supposed to be?"

"I am your end, filthy demons!" the boy drew a sword as the blade extended out. He dashed towards Linos, ready to swing, but a crystal suddenly erected between them as it blocked the boy's attack.

"What's this guy's deal?" Mavis cried.

"Not sure, but you two stay back. We'll handle this!" Linos shouted.

The boy moved to attack Mala, but she blocked each of his strikes with her claws and crystal barriers. She leapt into the air but he fired a small grappling hook that wrapped securely around her foot. With a swift pull, he brought her back down as she roughly landed on the ground.

"Mala, you ok?" Mavis asked, rushing to her friend.

"Yeah," she groaned, rubbing her head. "Look out!" she shouted as the boy advanced on them again. The boy raised his arm, sword in hand and ready to strike when he was suddenly kicked roughly in the stomach by Pearl, who instantly appeared before her master.

"Wretched demons," the boy muttered under his breath.

"Hey, what's your problem!" Linos shouted, stepping up to the boy.

"You wretched demon prance about this world like it belongs to you. None of you deserve to be here. I'll destroy all you evil demons for the honour of the Ryder Clan!" he declared proudly.

"Ryder Clan?" Mala gasped.

"Evil? You need to get your facts checked, kid!" Linos formed two shadow blades and raised them just in time to block the boy's sword.

"Ugh, you're even uglier up close!" the boy spat.

"Funny, I was just about to say the same about you," Linos said with a wide grin. Their swords clashed again and again when the boy suddenly reached behind him and pulled out a small dagger, slicing Linos right across his chest. "Ah!" Linos stumbled back, clutching the wound on his chest. The boy moved in to finish Linos, but a crystal wall suddenly formed in front of the boy before it circled him entirely, trapping him inside a crystal prison.

"We have to get out of here! It won't hold him for long," Mala exclaimed.

"Linos, are you ok?" Tim asked.

"It's just a scratch!" he assured them. He tried to push himself up, but winced in pain and fell back.

"Yeah, I didn't realize that 'scratch' was recently redefined to mean 'large, gaping chest wound'!" Mavis shouted.

"Linos, you have to use your shadow powers to get us out of here. Can you teleport us all back to my place?" Mala asked.

"Y-yeah, yeah I can manage that…" he muttered weakly. Shadows swirled around the group before completely covering them as they disappeared from the area. When the shadows faded, they were in Mala's apartment. Mala shifted back into her human form while Linos used the last of his strength to do the same.

"Ok, Mavis, get him on the couch. Tim, with me, now!" Mala ordered.

"Oh, this won't be easy," Mavis muttered to herself.

"What are we doing?" Tim asked.

Mala tossed a large book at him as Tim caught it in his arms. "Healing spells, chapter 5."

"Uh, ok, curing a bite from a spider demon? No, uh, accidental inhalation of powdered butterfly wings? No, no! Ok, ok, healing gaping flesh wounds. Wow… that's what it's actually called. Ok, uh, dried lotus root, dehydrated pig liver, fish oil and maca," Tim paused, "macadamia nuts? Really?"

"Ugh, I don't have any of those ingredients. Let me see that." Mala took the book from Tim and began flipping through the pages. "Ok, this will have to do. The spell is only meant for minor cuts, but it's the only one here that I have all the ingredients for." Mala pulled Tim into her kitchen to help her prepare the ingredients while Mavis tended to Liam on the couch.

"Please tell me you have something that can help him," Mavis said as the two emerged from the kitchen.

"We do. It's a weaker spell meant for small cuts, but it's the best we can do for now. Tim, this'll be good for you to watch, ok?"

"Gotcha," he replied.

Mala knelt down in front of the couch and sprinkled the powdery mixture they made over his chest while muttered an incantation. The wound glowed faintly as the bleeding instantly stopped and the wound began to close. It only started healing part way before stopping entirely. The wound was still rather large, but Liam was no longer bleeding.

"That should hold him until we get the necessary ingredients tomorrow," Mala said.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Mavis asked.

"It'll still hurt, but not as much. He'll feel better in the morning. We can meet up tomorrow before we head out to get ingredients for a better healing spell."

* * *

><p>"Hey, you're looking better already!" Mavis exclaimed.<p>

"Yeah, but my chest aches and I can't stop scratching it." Liam moved his hand to scratch his chest when Mala suddenly slapped his hand away.

"Ah ah ah! No scratching! You'll fester the wound!" she scolded.

"Yes, mom," he grumbled.

"What if that kid shows up again? Liam's in no fighting condition and it took both of you just to hold him off!" Tim cried.

"Based on the way he was talking, I'd say he knew we were demons already. So long as Liam and I are in our human forms, we'll be fine. He won't be able to detect us."

"So where are we going to find these ingredients? The last time I checked, the supermarket didn't exactly sell dried lotus root and dehydrated pig liver," said Mavis.

"Don't worry about that; I know just the place!" Mala said, as she led them down the street. "If you look hard enough, you'll always manage to find one of those Chinese herbal medicine shops, though they're far more common in Chinatown. Luckily for us, there's one just a few blocks from here and it's the closest one that's well-priced too." They followed Mala down the street before she came to a stop in front of an open store. "Well, here we are!" she declared.

"Kuang's Medicinal Herbs and Other Neat Finds?" Tim read the store's name.

"Neat Finds? Sounds like my kind of place!" Mavis grinned.

"Argh, what's that smell?" Liam cried, pinching his nose.

"Onions," Mala answered, gesturing to the sliced onions hanging around the store. "It's an ancient superstition where people believed the smell of onions wards off demons."

"Well, they were right!" Liam coughed.

"Demons don't like the smell of onion?" Mavis asked.  
>"Not one bit."<p>

"How come it's not bothering you?" Tim asked.

"Half-human," Mala winked.

"Oh my, I wasn't expecting such young people in my shop." They turned and saw an old Chinese man dressed in a dark green Chinese-styled shirt with a matching hat. His long white hair was brittle and tied in a low ponytail while the hair on his face formed a neat little beard. "Welcome to my shop! My name is Kuang, but everybody just calls me Old Man Kuang," he greeted.

"That is an awesome casual name, Old Man Kuang," Mavis complimented.

"Why thank you, my dear! Is there anything specific that you're looking for?"

"Yes, do you have any dried lotus root and dehydrated pig liver?" Mala asked.

"Of course we do! Just one moment." Kuang moved behind the counter and began digging through the drawers. He pulled out two containers and set them on the glass counter. "Might I recommend some fermented beetle larvae and sparrow feathers?"

"Oh yes, those would be excellent. We'll need those for tracking spells," Mala whispered that last part to Tim. "Do you also happen to have dried seahorse and ground-up dragonfly wings?"

"Ah, let me check. I must say, I'm surprised a young lady such as yourself knows so much about these ingredients," he commented as he rummaged through his cupboards.

"Well, my dad taught me a lot about them," Mala laughed nervously.

"Oh, I'm sure he did. Jasper was my best and favourite student."

"W-Wha? How did you?" Mala asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Jasper was one of the brightest; I'd expect nothing less from his daughter," Kuang said with a smile.

"Y-you're… Chi Master Kuang!" Mala cried in amazement. "I-it's an honor to meet you!" Mala fumbled as she jumped back and bowed her head respectfully.

"Please, stand. There's no need to be so formal. Besides, I'm retired! Just call me Old Man Kuang, everyone does!" he smiled.

"Mala, do you know this guy?" Tim asked.

"Yes! This is Chi Mast- I mean, Old Man Kuang," she corrected herself, "He was my father's master and one of the greatest Chi Wizards of the century!"

"Oh, please, you're making me blush. Oh my, it looks like your demon friend isn't taking too kindly to my onions," Kuang said, noticing a woozy Liam.

"Yes, he-wait, how did you know he's a demon?" Mala asked.

"Oh, my eyes may not be what they used to be, but I know the sight of a demon's reaction to onions. Here you are, young man, drink this," Kuang said, handing Liam a cup of tea.

"Uh, ok." Liam took the cup and carefully sniffed the tea before downing the whole thing in one go.

"Better?"

Liam waited a second before answering. He took a deep breath and blinked a few times to clear his eyes. "Actually, yeah!" he exclaimed. "Thank you!"

"Whoa, what was in that tea?" Mavis asked.

"It's a special tea of my own making. It helps reinforce an onion immunity in demons so they won't be bothered by the smell."

"If you don't mind me asking, why would you make a tea like that?" Tim asked.

"Why so my friends don't get bothered by the smell, of course!"

"You mean… demon friends?" Mala asked.

"Why of course! Not all demons are bad, you know," he clarified with a wink. "Now based on these ingredients, I would say you're cooking up a healing spell as well as a locator spell of some sorts."

"That's right! How did you know?" Mavis asked.

"Well, they didn't call me Chi Master Kuang for nothing! Now what has the daughter of my favourite student gotten herself into?"

"You ever hear of the 13 Coins?" Liam asked him.

"Who hasn't?"

"Well, we're trying to find them before Daolon Wong gets his hands on them," Mala said.

"Oh my, that is serious. Daolon Wong is one of the greatest Dark Chi Wizards in the world. If he wants something, he won't stop until he gets it. And you don't want his hands to get on anything."

"Otherwise he'll destroy the world, yadda yadda, classic evil villain diatribe," Mavis commented.

"No, I mean literally. He's got these creepy mouths on his hand that he uses to syphon energy and power from others," Kuang said, holding out his hands in a reenactment.

"Hands… on mouths?" Tim asked.

"Creepy," Mavis shuddered.

"Indeed. So let me guess, you're making a locator spell in order to track the rest of the Coins?" Kuang asked.

"Yes," Mala answered.

"And how about the Coins you already have?"

"I've already put a shielding spell on each of them to mask their magical aura so Daolon Wong can't detect them."

"Haha, good girl!" Kuang beamed proudly. "Now, you aren't planning to actually fight Daolon Wong, are you?"

"No, we both know what would happen if I tried with Chi spells. I'm training Tim instead," Mala said, gesturing to Tim behind her.

"Ah, so he is your apprentice? Your father would be very proud of you if he could see you now."

"You think so?"

"I know so! He wrote to me often and always talked about how much he loved you and how he knew you'd grow into a strong and confident young woman."

Mala couldn't help but smile to herself. "D-did he ever write about my…"

"Mm, he wrote about Lana often - or should I just call her Lang Yan now? Anyway, he was heartbroken when he found out the truth."

"Yeah, I know," Mala said bitterly.

"Not that she was a demon, my dear, but that she kept this part of her from him. Maybe for Lang Yan it started out as a mission, but I like to think that somewhere along the way, she started to feel something for the both of you."

"I doubt that."

"Mala, you know as well as anyone else how quickly faces can change. We all have parts of ourselves that we keep a secret. But deep down we're all the same. What matters most isn't what is on the outside, but what is in here," Kuang said, lightly tapping Mala's chest where her heart was.

"Old Man Kuang, that was deep… and 100% worthy of a fist bump!" Mavis grinned, holding out her fist. "Don't leave me hangin'."

"Haha, I try," he smiled, bumping Mavis' fist as she made an explosion sound effect with her mouth.

"I guess I never really thought of it that way," Mala said.

"Children never really understand their parents, at least not entirely. A parent scolding their child may do so to teach their child a lesson, but from the child's perspective, their parent is being mean and they feel they are being mistreated. When we are children, we are unable to see the bigger picture clearly and we form judgements and assumptions on our parents based not only on their actions, but how we interpret those actions with the understanding we posses at that time. I'm not trying to defend what she did, but I'm just saying keep an open mind. Things might not have gone down entirely the way you thought they did."

"I can't make any promises."

"Aha, but you didn't say 'no', which means you are keeping an open mind! Or at least you're thinking about keeping an open mind." Kuang boasted loudly. "So, is that everything?" he asked, placing a bag filled with containers on the counter.

"Yes, thank you Kuang. How much?" Mala asked, reaching for her wallet.

"Please," Kuang started, holding out his hands gently in protest, "it's on the house!"

"What? No, I couldn't possibly-"

"Family discount!" he quickly declared as he cut her off.

"F-family?"

"Of course! You're practically family!"

"Oh, thank you," she said with a slight bow. "But next time I insist on paying!" she called back as they exited the store. They made their way back to Mala's apartment where she instructed Tim how to prepare the healing spell.

"Ok, according to the book, you're going to feel a slight tingle," Tim said, as he carefully poured the bowl's contents onto Liam's chest.

"WHOA! That was anything but 'slight'!" Liam barked.

"Yeah, yeah tiger, keep still," Mavis lectured. After a few seconds, the wound began glowing as the spell closed it entirely. When the glow faded, there was no sign of the gash at all.

"And that's it! How do you feel?" Tim asked.

"Much better, especially now that I can scratch this itch that's been building all day!" Liam sighed in relief as he started scratching his chest.

"Ok, now that that's done, you and I can get started on that locator spell. It should only take about an hour to fix up since I already prepared the ingredients while you were preparing the healing spell," said Mala.

"What about the guy who put me in this position in the first place? He's still out there," Liam asked.

"Yeah, didn't he say he was from, like the Ryder Clan or something?" asked Mavis.

Mala moved over to her bookshelf and pulled out another book. She sat down on the couch and opened the book as the others gathered around her. "The Ryder Clan," she started, "was a clan of famous demon hunters back in ancient times."

"Demon hunters?" Tim asked.

"Thousands of years ago, demons used to rule this world. After the rise of Chi Wizardry eliminated the more powerful ones, all that were left were the smaller demons. That's where hunters came in. Chi Wizards couldn't be bothered from their studies to take care of a little demon," clarified Liam.

"That's right. And the Ryder Clan was one such group of hunters, if not the best! They were originally called the Laida Clan and each member of the family was trained extensively in demon extermination techniques both physical and magical, which means they're kind of like Chi Wizards as well. After nearly all demons were exorcised from this world, there was no longer any need for hunters and the Laida Clan turned to a life of banditry," Mala explained.

"Hey, that emblem was on that kid's sword, and belt, and well, everywhere! Man, he really likes to show off that emblem," Mavis pointed out the green crescent shape with two circles above it.

"That's the crest of the Laida Clan," said Mala.

"Does it say anything about the Clan after they became bandits?" Tim asked.

"No, that was the last anyone had ever heard of about the Laida Clan," she answered, closing the book.

"Until now," Mavis said dramatically. "Sorry, I've always wanted to be the one to say the 'until now' part," she added with a mischievous smile.

"If that's true then this boy who attacked us last night must be a descendant of the Laida Clan," Mala concluded.

"And he seems to have taken up the Clan's original mission," added Tim.

"Mhm, we'll have to be more careful from now on. If we run into Daolon Wong while we're searching for the Coins and we change into our demon forms, the hunter will be able to detect and track us," Mala said.

"So not only do we have a Dark Chi Wizard, but now we have a demon hunter after us too?" Mavis asked.

"Technically after me and Mala," Liam interjected.

"You know what I meant!"

"Well, like I said, as long as Liam and I stay in our human forms, he won't be able to track our demonic auras. It's only when we're in a fight with Wong where we'll have to be careful," Mala cautioned.

"It's a good thing you're training Tim then. If he can take care of Daolon Wong, you and I will be free to handle the hunter if he shows up," said Liam.

"Yeah, 'good'," Tim said sarcastically with air quotes.

* * *

><p><strong>It's just a scratch! lol<strong>

**I was really excited to write this chapter because in it we finally introduced the last of the new characters: Remington Ryder and Old Man Kuang. I hope you guys like them.**

**Next chapter: The group and Daolon Wong chase after a raven that has one of the Coins in it's possession. **


	6. Raven's Trinket

**And reading week is over now :( Oh well, I had a good break and got a whole week of work done. So.. $$ yay! Anyway, I've got the rest of the story planned out and I'll hopefully be able to find time between assignments to keep writing ^_^**

**Without further adieu, enjoy! This story and it's characters belong to Zephyros-Phoenix and Dingo-Sniper except for any content (characters, plot, etc.) originating from Jackie Chan Adventures.**

* * *

><p>"All right, Demon Hunters, this may be our greatest challenge yet. No one has ever faced this and lived to tell the tale. But I believe that if we combine all our strengths, we'll just make it," Mavis said in a serious tone.<p>

"Mavis, relax, it's just math homework," said Mala.

"How can you even put 'relax' and 'math homework' in the same sentence? I'm sure the math at your old school was all fine and dandy, but this, oh no, this is pure evil!"

"Fine and dandy?" Mala asked. "Do people still say that?"

"Hang on, what was that 'demon hunters' part?" Liam asked, setting his math textbook on his lap.

"Oh, just another team name idea. No good?" she asked.

"Well for one thing, it might cause some confusion with the actual demon hunter that's trying to kill us," Liam pointed out.

"Yeah, I didn't think it was a good one either, but it was worth a shot. Ugh! This is killing my brain!" Mavis cried out in frustration.

"Mavis, you haven't even started the first question," Mala said.

"I know! That's how much it's killing me! I haven't even started yet and just the thought of doing math… I don't even want to think about it," she shuddered.

"You mean think about the thought of doing math? That doesn't really-" Mala started.

"Mala trust me, just let this one slide," Tim called from the kitchen.

"If you say so," she shrugged. "How's that tracking spell going, Tim?" she called back.

"Almost ready, I'm just checking over the recipe!"

"Oh awesome! This is just the well timed distraction I need to tear me away from the menace that is… math homework," she muttered dramatically.

"Math homework that you technically haven't even started yet," Mala noted.

"Minor details," Mavis said with a playful brush of her hand. "So what've we got? Where's the next coin?" she asked eagerly, sitting at the edge of the couch as Tim came over with the spell's contents in a bowl.

Tim muttered the incantation and placed the final ingredient in the bowl, which began to bubble. Smoke arose from the bowl and formed into a little cloud just above them. Suddenly an image formed within the smoke or something small and black.

"Is that… is that a bird? Are you sure you did the spell right?" Mavis asked.

"I'm positive! I read over the recipe three times and did every step correctly! I'm sure of it!" Tim insisted.

"Wait, there's more!" Liam cried. The image of the bird cleared up before closing in on the nest it sat in.

"And there's our pretty birdie!" Mavis exclaimed, noticing the shining coin with wavy edges within the bird's nest.

"Whaddya know? It actually is a bird," Mala said in amusement. The image suddenly zoomed out from the bird's nest to show several trees and benches.

"Hey, I know that park! That's halfway between the school and my place! I remember that park because that's where I once beat up that snot nosed Benson for getting dirt all over my sandwich," said Mavis.

"When you were a kid, right?" Mala asked.

"No, that was just last month. My sandwich would have been so proud of me for getting revenge on that sandwich ruining, snot nosed Benson."

"Well, let's head there before Daolon Wong shows up," said Liam.

"Aw yeah! Operation: Birds of a Feather!" Mavis declared.

They made their way to the park under Mavis' directions. "Nope, no nest in this one," Liam sighed, dropping to the ground after climbing the third tree in the park.

"Maybe it'll be in the next one. Sorry you have to do all the climbing Liam," Tim said, "I'm still getting a handle on these tracking spells."

"It's fine, Tim. It would be easier if I could just fly, but that's not exactly an option for me." Liam hoisted himself into the next tree and sighed in relief when he noticed a nest on one of the branches. "Guys I think this is it!" he called. He reached forward to grab the nest, but stopped when a raven perched on the branch right across from him. "Uh oh, nice birdie… AH! Son of a-OW!" Liam shouted, falling to the ground and landing on his butt roughly.

"A Shadow and Sound Demon defeated by a raven. You must be so proud," Mala said with a chuckle.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up, but that thing was crazy mad!"

"I'm not surprised, ravens are quite protective of their hordes of shiny trinkets," Tim explained.

"Yeah ok, keep watch while I-" Liam began speaking when they heard a pair of wings fluttering. They all looked up to see the raven taking off from its nest with the coin gripped tightly in its talon.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Mavis groaned.

"Uh, it gets worse, I'm afraid," Mala said, pointing to the other side of the park.

"Argh, of course you children would be here. I should have expected this!" Daolon Wong shouted in annoyance.

"Ok Tim, you're up!" Mala exclaimed.

Tim dug into his bag and pulled out the large book inside. "Uh, all right, attack spells, attack spells, here we go!" he said, flipping through the pages until he found the passage he was looking for.

"Let's go get that bird!" Mavis cried as she, Liam and Mala chased after it.

"There's too many people here; we can't transform," Liam said.

"Well, there is one alternative." Mala looked around to make sure the park goers weren't watching and formed a single, purple crystal crow in her hands. The crow cawed and perched on her wrist. "Go after that bird," Mala commanded. The crow looked up at the raven flying away and took off after it.

"Guys! I could use some help here!" Tim cried, running over to them while narrowly avoiding Daolon Wong's attack spell.

"Well, at least the park's clear," said Liam, noticing the park visitors fleeing the explosions caused by Daolon Wong's spells. "We won't have to worry about people seeing us now."

"Right," Mala nodded, as they both assumed their demon forms.

Daolon Wong looked above them and saw the raven fighting Mala's crow. "Ah, there it is." He muttered another spell before firing a beam of dark energy straight towards the two birds. The blast shattered the crystal crow and nearly hit the raven. The raven cawed, startled by the attack as it tightened its grip on the Coin. Suddenly, the Coin lit up and a glow surrounded the raven as it zoomed off into the distance.

"Oh come on!" Mavis shouted.

"Let's forget Wong and follow that bird. Think you can still track it, Tim?" Linos asked.

"I'll try," he answered. Linos grabbed Mavis and Tim in each of his arms and took off into the sky followed by Mala. They flew high above the city, careful to avoid being seen by people down below. "Ok, keep heading east!" Tim shouted over the wind rushing by them.

"WOOOOOOHOOOOO!" Mavis shouted, "I never get tired of this!"

"Mavis, please be quiet and focus!" Linos pleaded.

"You be quiet! I'm gonna enjoy this! This is a thousand times better than stupid math homework!" she shouted, holding her arms out as they flew.

"How far do you think that bird got?" Linos asked.

"Hard to say! We don't know how long it activated the Coin for. And from what we saw, I'm guessing that Coin's power was super speed," Mala replied.

"Super speed? Oh man, I can't wait to try that one out! I'd never be late for class again and I'd finally get our gym teacher to shut up about my horrible time for running laps!" Mavis exclaimed.

"Mavis, you realize we can't go around using the Coins for our own personal gain, right?" Tim pointed out.

"Hey, a girl can dream!"

"Well, super speed would be pretty handy right about now-WHOA!" Mala suddenly came to a stop in midair along with Linos when an arrow suddenly whizzed right past her cheek. Mala looked down to find their shooter and noticed someone standing on the roof of a nearby building. "It's the hunter!"

"Oh perfect!" Linos shouted sarcastically.

"I'll handle the hunter! You three find that raven before Daolon Wong does!" Mala said to them. She flew down to engage the hunter as Linos continued after the raven.

"Just you?" he asked, drawing his sword.

"Nope,"Mala answered, as Pearl took her place beside her master.

"A shame; I was hoping to get rid of both you demons," he spat.

"Listen kid, I don't know who you think you are, but we're not your enemy!"

"Psh, this coming from a demon?"

"A demon and a human," Mala said, as she noticed the boy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "We're not like other demons; we're not evil."

"And I'm just supposed to take your word on that? I don't think so!" the boy charged forward, ignoring Mala's words. He advanced to strike her with his sword, by Pearl intercepted him, blocking the blow with her thick forearm. The hunter tried again to strike the rabbit, but Pearl blocked each of his blows easily before swiftly dealing a powerful punch to his stomach. The force of the blow knocked him across the roof of the building. He grunted as he clutched his stomach before picking himself up. "Enough of this, puppet!" he sneered. With incredible speed, the hunter threw a bolas at Pearl as the cords wrapped securely around Pearl's arms. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, struggling against the restraints.

"Pearl!" Mala cried out in worry, before narrowing her eyes at the hunter.

Mala waved her arms, summoning a row of crystal shards that she sent raining down towards the hunter with the flick of her wrist. The hunter ran across the rooftop, avoiding the majority of the shards while deflecting the rest with his sword. He pulled out a small crossbow and fired the grappling hook straight at Mala. The hook clamped around her arm and he pulled her down to the rooftop with all his might. The landed roughly on the rooftop and pushed herself up with her hands. She extended the claws on her forearms and brought them over her just in time to block the hunter's next sword strike. With all her might, Mala pushed the hunter off her as he stumbled back before summoning her crystal crows. The crows swarmed around the hunter, who raised his arms to avoid the pecking beaks of the purple crows.

_'I hope they found that raven. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up,'_ Mala thought. The hunter slashed half of the crows with his sword before shooting down the rest with his crossbow bolts.

"Is that all you have, demon?" he taunted.

"Not a chance," she replied, turning invisible.

"Typical: sending minions to fight your battles and sneaking around instead of facing me in a real battle!" The hunter threw down a smoke grenade, covering the rooftop in a thick smoke. "There you are!" he smirked, spotting her figure in the smoke. He threw a bolas at her, the cords wrapping tightly around her and binding her arms. Like with her rabbit, Mala lost her balance and fell to the ground. The hunter charged for her again, but just as he dove, Mala raised her legs and hoisted him right over her and over the ledge. Mala got to her feet and tore through the bolas with her crystals. She ran over to the ledge in time to see the hunter falling into the alley below. Mala quickly held out her hand, forming a crystal slide right beneath the hunter that spiraled down the alley, depositing the hunter into a soft but smelly pile of trash bags. Mala let out a light chuckle at the sight of the prestigious demon hunter struggling in the trash pile before taking off to rejoin her friends.

* * *

><p>"Ok, let's try this again, nice birdie," Liam whispered, reaching out to the raven as it was perched on a gargoyle on a skyscraper. "No, no, no, don't do that!" he quickly cursed as the raven cawed and began flapping its wings.<p>

"Careful! You don't want it to activate the Coin again!" Tim warned.

"Yeah I know, but it's kinda hard to get the Coin when the bird won't leave it alone!"

"Hey, how's it going?" Mala asked, landing next to the group and reverting to her human form.

"Mala! Where's the hunter?" Tim asked.

"Oh, let's just say I took out the trash," she smiled.

"Wait, wait, wait, did you leave him garbage?" Mavis asked with a serious face.

"Yes."

"Ah, good, because otherwise the line wouldn't have made sense."

"So what's the trouble?" Mala asked.

"The raven won't leave the Coin and we can't get close to it without it ready to fly off and probably zoom halfway across the world!" Liam muttered.

"What if we distracted it with something else?" Mavis suggested.

"Like what?" Tim asked.

"Something shiny, resplendent like the noon-day sun, perhaps?" Mavis continued.

"Like this?" Mala asked, holding a large jewel in her palm.

"Where did you get that?" Liam asked.

"Made it," she answered curtly.

"Haha! That's my girl!" Mavis cheered, seizing the jewel from Mala and moving towards the raven. "Yoohoo, little birdie, wouldn't you rather have this really pretty, sparkly, super awesome and amazing jewel my friend made?"

"There is no way this is going to work," Liam commented. However, to his surprise, the raven cocked its head in curiosity to Mavis and hopping towards her, leaving the Coin on the gargoyle's head. It cautiously examined the jewel before quickly seizing it in its beak and taking off back for its nest.

"And you said it wouldn't work," Mavis smirked, turning back to look at Liam. "Whoa, heads up!" she shouted, pointing above them. They looked up to see Daolon Wong float above as a beam of dark energy shot out from his hands to their feet. Black roots sprouted from the ground and wrapped firmly around their feet and legs.

"I can't move!" Liam shouted. "Mala, can you cut these off?"

"I'm trying, but they must be magically reinforced!" Mala cried back.

"Mavis, look out!" Liam cried, when Daolon Wong turned to face her.

"Uh oh," she squeaked. Daolon Wong unleashed a blast of dark Chi energy at the gargoyle, destroying its anchor to the building as it and Mavis fell to the streets below.

"NOOO!" Liam struggled more than ever against the roots while Mala and Tim merely stared wide-eyed at the gargoyle that up until a few seconds ago, held their friend.

"Well, nothing to do now but to retrieve the Falcon Coin from your friend's body," Wong cackled.

"You're gonna pay for this Wong!" Liam shouted, his eyes glowing bright red in rage.

"Heh, pesky little demons talk too much. You can't even move!"

"Whoa-whoooah-whoa-whoa-whoa!" The three teens gasped as their jaws dropped at the sight of Mavis floating back up to their level. She was flailing her arms, trying to steady herself and stop herself from rolling upside down. "Hey, freakface!" Mavis shouted once she was floating upright again.

"Huh?" Daolon Wong turned around and gasped at the flying girl in shock. "But I-you!" he fumbled with his words.

"Don't you bad guys ever learn? Good guys always win!" Mavis proudly flashed the Bat Coin between her fingers before tightly clutching it within her palm. She leaned back and inhaled deeply before letting out a powerful sonic scream. Daolon Wong tried to shield himself with his arms, but the force of the blast was too powerful him and sent him flying off into the distance.

"Mavis, that was incredible!" Tim cried.

"I know, right?" she said confidently as she floated down to the roof top with them.

"You almost had us there; we thought you were-" Mala started.

"Aw, come on, guys, you know it takes much more to get rid of the Mavis," she grinned, pointing to herself with her thumbs.

"Well, you did good, Callahan. Tim, get us out of these, will you?" Liam asked.

"Just a second…" Tim muttered a spell and the roots disintegrated, freeing them.

"So I guess super speed wasn't the only thing that Coin could do," said Mala.

"Yeah and Wong said it was the Falcon Coin," Liam added.

Mavis tossed the Coin to Mala, who inspected the inscription on the back. "Yup, wings and speed of the falcon," she confirmed. "Let's hurry back to my place so we can put a shielding spell on this."

"Right. We still have math homework to finish," said Liam.

"Well, some of us do," Tim added.

The three of them laughed when Mavis let out an exasperated and overdramatic groan.

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><p><strong>Next chapter: When Daolon Wong poisons the team, it's up to Pearl and Mala's constructs to save the day and get the next coin!<strong>


	7. One of a Kind

**Enjoy another chapter! Sadly, it's a little shorter than the others, but oh well!**

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><p>"After him!" Linos shouted, dashing through the abandoned warehouse after Daolon Wong. "We can't let him get away with that Coin! Tim, do something!" he shouted.<p>

"I'm trying! He's moving too fast! And I'm still just an apprentice!" Tim argued.

"I'll slow him down!" Mala declared. She waved her hands as crystals formed around Daolon Wong's feet, trapping him. He struggled and pulled to free himself, but the crystals were too strong and held him in place.

"Ugh, pesky children!" he cursed. He pointed his staff to the crystals and disintegrated them with a ray of dark energy. "Let's see how you deal with this!" Daolon Wong muttered an incantation as a dark circle appeared in front of him. A giant black scorpion appeared and advanced on the group, snapping it's claws menacingly.

"Whoa! Operation: Midnight Madness just got more interesting!" Mavis declared.

"Look out!" Linos shouted, diving towards Mavis and tackling her out of the way as the scorpion's tail pierced the concrete floor where she just stood. "Mavis, you've gotta stay focused! Watch out for that tail!" he shouted to the others. The scorpion tried to pull its tail free, but couldn't. It waved it's massive pincers, hoping to hit the teens, but they managed to move out of its range. Mala summoned a giant crystal shard and fired it straight into the scorpion demon's head, instantly killing it.

"Whoa… that was easy," Mavis declared with mild surprise. All of a sudden, the scorpion's body exploded, emitting a thick cloud of smoke that filled the entire warehouse.

"Wh-what is this?" Mala coughed, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Get to fresh air!" Linos shouted, quickly grabbing Tim and Mavis as they fled the warehouse into open air. They each coughed heavily to catch their breath.

"Man, I can't believe he got away! And he got the Coin too!" Mavis wailed and complained.

"We were so close too. Did anyone manage to catch what the emblem was?" Tim asked.

"It looked almost like… a unicorn… or a pegasus," Linos said.

"Wong must be long gone by now. Maybe we can regroup at my place and try another tracking spell," said Mala.

"Are you sure? We only have ingredients for one more," Tim warned.

"We don't have a choice. We have no idea what this Coin does, which makes it all the more dangerous in Daolon Wong's hands," said Linos. Suddenly, he noticed Mavis sway a little, "Whoa, Mavis, you ok?" he asked.

"Ye-yeah, of course!" she insisted. "My head kinda hurts a little, that's all. Well, there goes Operation: Midnight Madness," she said sadly.

"You know, I'm not feeling so good either," Mala said, rubbing her head. "Let's head back to my place." When they arrived at Mala's apartment, Mala plopped down onto he couch and groaned. "I-I think I just need to sit down for a while."

"M-me too," Mavis mumbled, falling upside-down on the couch next to her.

"S-something's wrong… W-we can't all be feeling like this," Tim said, nearly losing his balance.

"What are you talking about, Tim?" Liam slurred. "I-I feel fine." Liam suddenly lost all his energy and fell to the ground. He tried to stop falling by grabbing onto the counter, but his hand slipped and he knocked a cup onto the floor. He tried to push himself back up, but found himself without any strength. "Wh-what's happening to us?"

"I-it must have been that smoke," Mavis said.

"W-we have to get the Coin," Mala muttered weakly. She tried to push herself off the couch, but ended up falling on the ground instead, quickly passing out with a pained groan. "Pearl…" she muttered, as the same happened to Liam, Tim and Mavis.

Pearl appeared before Mala, lightly nudging her master's head with her own cool nose. She shifted into her battle form and lifted Mala, gently setting her onto the couch. She looked around the room, examining her master's fallen companions.

_'We have to get the Coin.'_ That was the last thing her master said before passing out. Pearl knew that she could not understand what was happening to them, and she certainly could not figure out how to reverse it. The only thing she knew that she could do was heed her master's last command. If luck was on her side, the Coin they lost to Daolon Wong would be able to help somehow.

Pearl stood atop the roof of Mala's apartment building as a crystal wolf and crow gathered beside her. They exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. No words were needed; they knew what they had to do. But they had no idea where to find Daolon Wong and they certainly did not have the means to locate him with a spell. So, they returned to the site of their previous battle. The wolf sniffed the area, searching for Daolon Wong's scent. It howled to announce to Pearl and the crow that it had the scent before dashing off to follow where it led.

* * *

><p>"Haha, at last! One of the Coins is finally mine!" Daolon Wong cackled, holding the seven-sided coin between his fingers. "So, a winged unicorn, I wonder what sort of power this will give me. Energy blasts? Flight? Once I find that spell to absorb the Coin into my body, I'll test it out on those meddlesome children and they'll be sorry for getting in my way! They're almost as annoying as those wretched Chans… Oh who am I kidding? Nobody can possibly be worse than those Chans!" he spat bitterly.<p>

"Ah, here we are. Hm, it will take some time, but once I've completed this spell, there isn't a chance those children will take this Coin from me!" Daolon Wong declared. All of a sudden, a purple crow swooped down and seized the Coin from right out of his hand. "What the?" The crow perched on the balcony above and tauntingly cawed at Wong as the Dark Chi Wizard seethed with anger.

"So, that crystal demon sent her little minions to fight instead? I'm not surprised. That scorpion demon I summoned emits a powerful toxic gas when destroyed. When exposed, those infected experience hallucinations as the poison slowly kills them. If I'm correct, they won't survive to see sunrise!" he cackled. All of a sudden, Daolon Wong shrieked in pain. He looked down and saw the crystal wolf's teeth biting into his leg. He raised his arm to strike the wolf with his scepter, but the wolf was able to move out of the way in time.

Pearl jumped up to Wong, unleashing a barrage of swift punches. Despite his frailty, Wong was able to dodge most of them before blasting Pearl back with dark energy from his scepter. "You know, I think I might prefer fighting all of you instead. None of you talk!" He proceeded to fire more dark energy blasts at Pearl, who jumped to avoid each one. The crow came down from its perch, clawing and pecking at Wong's face. He struggled against the crow and waved it off with his arms. Wong fired a dark energy blast at the wolf that ran towards him, forcefully knocking it back. He did the same with the crow, knocking it out of the sky as it dropped the Coin.

"Ha, finally! Enough of this pathetic attack of yours. I seem to remember your master cherishes you the most," Wong said, shooting Pearl in the arm. Black energy swirled across her arm, her arm turning to stone as it slowly spread to her torso. Pearl fell weakly to the ground as Wong stood over her. "Haha, let's test out this Coin's power on you then. I wonder how your master will feel when I send you back to her in pieces!" Wong whipped out the Coin and held it in his fingertips, aiming the face of the Coin at Pearl. The Coin began glowing a blindingly white light as it emitted a beam that struck Pearl. Wong cackled at the sight of this, but when the light dimmed, Pearl was unharmed. In fact, Wong's stone curse was completely undone and Pearl's arm was restored.

"What the? This wretched Coin didn't do anything!" he snapped.

If Pearl could talk, she'd probably say, "Wanna bet?" With her fully restored arm, Pearl leapt up and delivered a swift and powerful punch to Daolon Wong's stomach. He keeled over, feeling the air immediately leave his lungs as he painfully clutched his stomach. Pearl pushed him to the ground roughly before taking the Coin in her large paw. She waved at the wolf and crow to retreat as they dashed back to Mala's apartment. It was nearly sundown, so Pearl wasted no time in activating the Coin. The Coin's healing light spread across the apartment. As the light slowly faded, the teens groaned, each slowly stirring awake.

"Wh-what happened?" Mavis asked sleepily.

Liam groaned and pushed himself off the ground. He felt something wet on his chin and wiped the drool off with his sleeve. He noticed the pool of drool on the floor where his face just was and muttered, "Well, that's lovely."

"Pearl? Wha?" Mala whispered as Peal stood over her and helped her up. She changed back to her small form and hopped onto the table, nudging the Coin towards them with her nose.

"Hey, isn't that?" Tim started.

"It's the Coin that Daolon Wong got from us!" Mavis shouted, quickly seizing the Coin and examining it.

"But what happened after we got back? I don't remember anything that happened after we got back," said Mala.

"I think it was that smoke that came from that scorpion when we killed it. It must have done something to us. Maybe it was poisonous," Liam commented.

"Pearl… did you go out and get the Coin to save us?" Mala asked in realization. Pearl didn't respond and simply cocked her head to the side.

"Whoa, that's awesome!" Mavis exclaimed.

"So what's the big deal?" Liam asked.

"The deal is that I didn't tell her to do that. She did it on her own. Normally whenever we're in battle, I tell her to do something and she does it. But this time, she did something for us entirely on her own. She could have just stayed here and waited until we died or something, but she chose to go out and try to save us. I thought I already knew everything she was capable of, but it looks like there's still more about my constructs that I have to learn," Mala explained. "You really are one of a kind, aren't you?" she whispered to Pearl.

"So what does this Coin do then?" Mavis asked, handing it to Mala.

"Hm, it says… 'aura of purity'," she said, reading the back inscription.

"What does that mean?" Liam asked.

"Well, based on what the inscription says and what just happened, I'd say it's a healing power," Tim said.

"Ha! I bet Daolon Wong was pretty pissed when he tried to use it like the Bat Coin!" Mavis exclaimed. Pearl nodded her head, a silent action that Mavis noticed. "Whoa, he did? I wish I could have seen his face! Midnight Madness may have failed, but Operation: Scorpion Sting was a success and it's all thanks to Pearl!"

"Scorpion Sting? Did you-" Tim started.

"Just make that up? Yes, yes I did," she smirked. "Now get to putting that shielding spell on this baby," she said, tossing the Coin to Tim.

"Speaking of which, we're running low on ingredients for those tracking spells. I only have enough left for one," said Tim.

"We'll have to wait until Kuang's store restocks then," said Mala.

"Oh no!" Mavis shouted.

"What? What is it?" Liam asked in worry.

"Guys, we've completely forgotten something horrible! School starts this week!" she wailed in despair.

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><p><strong>Well, we originally had something else planned for this chapter, but as we thought about it, it didn't seem to work well with the flow of the chapter and it would have been very repetitive. Basically, the original plan was for the smoke to be a hallucinagenic nerve gas thing that would make those infected experience their greatest fears. Doing this for each of the characters would have really messed up the flow with the chapter, I feel not to mention be extremely repetitive. Plus, I feel like the whole "fears" thing for characters in series is something that's done a lot.<strong>

**Next chapter: When Mala and Liam get sick, it's up to Tim and Mavis to battle Daolon Wong for the next Coin as they revisit the museum.**


	8. Callahan's Five

**Man, since I finished the previous chapter, I just could not wait to start this one. I think this one has become a strong favorite for me and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it!**

**Now I really want to thank you for the continued support in this story. I appreciate all the reviews, but when you are posting a review, please don't just say something generic like "Oh, I liked it! Yay!" Please actually tell me what you liked about it. What was your favorite part? What are you liking or not liking about the story? How do you think something should have been done differently? What do you hope to see in future chapters? At least give me some indication that you actually read the chapter.**

**As usual, we, Zephyros-Phoenix and Dingo-Sniper, do not own the Jackie Chan Adventure series, only our original characters and this story. **

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><p>"Uuugggghhhhhhhh!" Mavis groaned, dropping her head onto the cafeteria table. She let out a heavy sigh, wetting the table surface.<p>

"Mavis, you have to get over it," Tim said.

"But I ca-han't!" she wailed in despair.

"Mavis, it's only the second day back. It's not that bad," said Mala.

"Not that bad? Not that bad?" she repeated loudly. "We had a whole two weeks of freedom! And now it's gone!"

"We still had homework, you know?" Liam pointed out.

"Ok, relative freedom," she corrected. "But that's besides the point! Hey, do you guys think that maybe you could…"

"Could what?" Liam asked, taking a sip of his soda.

"Mavis!" Mala gasped in shock. "Absolutely not! How could you even suggest that?"

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Mavis, we are not going to destroy the school," Liam lectured her.

"Ok, maybe you did know what I was going to say…" Mavis said dejected.

"Yeah, and we certainly aren't going to do it on purpose this time," Mala added.

"Oh come on, it doesn't have to be a big one like last time! Maybe just a little explosion, something that gets us a half day? It's Friday; it's practically the weekend. Huh? Huh?" Mavis asked. When Mala and Liam simply stared at her, she spoke, "Ok, I'm sensing a negative vibe here, now. Yeah, I'll take that as a no. Spoilsports," she muttered. "Oh, yeah guys you don't want to eat that," she said, as Liam and Mala dug their forks into the meatloaf.

"What? The meatloaf? Why not?" asked Liam.

"Have I taught you nothing Liam? Mavis Callahan's rules for surviving high school number 32: Never trust the cafeteria meatloaf! That's where they put all the week's leftovers!" she announced dramatically.

"32? Exactly how many of these rules are there?" Mala asked.

"But they got a new lunch lady!" he argued.

"Didn't they only hire a new lunch lady because they had to make some cuts in order to pay for the damages that you two caused?" Tim asked, pointing his fork at them while he spoke.

"Aha! You see? They hired a lunch lady who works for less, which can only mean that her quality of food is much lower than the last lunch lady!"

"Oh, it can't be that bad," Mala said surely with a brush of her hand.

"Words that will be engraved on your tombstones. Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

><p>"Hello? Yoohoo? Mala, you home?" Mavis asked, opening the door to Mala's apartment with her spare key.<p>

"Over here…" Mavis heard a weak and groggy groan come from behind the couch. Mala was curled up in a ball on the floor, tightly clutching her stomach.

"Uhuh, that looks about right," Mavis said, examining Mala from over the couch.

"She's sick too, isn't she?" Tim walked in, carrying Liam with one arm over his shoulder. Liam's head hung low and he groaned in the same manner as Mala.

"E-yup! I warned you, didn't I?" Mavis asked, casually shaking her head in disappointment.

"M-Mavis, sweetie, I love you, but p-please… shut up," she groaned before wincing in pain and tightly clutching her stomach.

"That was rhetorical, Mala. Of course I know I warned you and I know you know I was right," Mavis smiled proudly.

"Come on, big guy, let's put you down right here," Tim said, setting Liam on the couch.

"You too, Mala," said Mavis, bending down to lift Mala onto the couch.

"No no no, don't touch me. As long as I don't move… or breathe or do anything, I'll be fine," she muttered.

"Uh, ok. I'm sure the floor is very comfortable," Mavis said.

"Oh, it is. It's nice and cool. And after laying here for a few hours, your body starts getting numb and it starts to feel soft," Mala mumbled weakly.

"I don't understand how this happened! We're demons; we almost never get sick!" Liam cried.

"Never underestimate the power of high school cafeteria meatloaf," Mavis said.

"Ooooooh, I can't take this. I have to get this meatloaf out of me! Get it out!" he shouted, gripping his stomach.

"Aaahh, no yelling!" Mala shouted back as her shout gradually progressed into a pained whimper.

"My god, this is literally a thousand times worse than I thought," Tim commented.

"I warned them, but they just wouldn't listen. At least they stayed away from the lasagne," Mavis replied.

"Ok, this madness has to end," Tim said, after watching the two groan and moan in pain. "Mavis, pass me the Winged Unicorn Coin, will you?"

"Huh, what? Uh, why do you need that right at this moment?" Mavis asked with a nervous laugh.

"So I can cure Liam and Mala of this ridiculous stomach virus, of course."

"Uh, well, you see that might be a bit of a problem…" she said nervously, tapping her index fingers against each other.

"Mavis, what did you do?" Tim eyed suspiciously.

"Well, you know Phineas, my pet bearded dragon, he wasn't feeling to well so I used the Coin to make him feel better. I walked away to go the bathroom real quick and when I got back… he sorta ate it," she squeaked with a nervous and cheeky smile.

"Your pet lizard… ate the Winged Unicorn Coin?" he asked in disbelief.

"Bearded dragon," she corrected. "Phineas isn't some common reptile; he's majestic; a dragon… with a beard!"

"Hang on, you're telling me that your pet swallowed the Coin?"

"Yes! That's what I've been saying. Boy, Tim, you really need to work on your hearing."

"My heari- Mavis! That's not the point. The point is that you let your pet liz-bearded dragon," Tim corrected himself when he saw Mavis' glare, "swallow a powerful magical artifact! Do you know how irresponsible that is?"

"Oh it'll be fine! You put the shielding spell on it so D Wong can't possibly trace it back to my little Phineas and it should pass through his system by the next day or so. I've been monitoring his bowel movements and everything!"

"Oh, Mavis," Tim groaned, slapping his palm to his forehead as he shook his head side to side. "Ok, new plan, you get them some fluids and I'll start working on the next tracking spell."

"Yeah ok, but if any of them so much as throws up on me!"

"Just go," he said, ushering her to the kitchen. Mavis marched off to the kitchen as Tim prepared the last of his ingredients. She came back into the living room with two glasses of water and set one down on the coffee table and the other next to Mala on the floor. "Hmm…" she thought out loud. She quickly dashed back into the kitchen before returning with a handful of straws. She took out one at a time before connecting each of the straws together. Once she had one long enough, she stuck it in the glass before guiding the other end to Mala's mouth. "Come on, Mala, have some water," she urged. Mala took a large sip through the straw and muttered a meek little "thank you", after which Mavis did the same for Liam.

"Ok, done!" Tim announced after several minutes. "Ok, it looks like the next Coin is at…" he started, examining the vision in the smoke.

"Hey, isn't that the museum? The same one we broke into two weeks ago?" Mavis asked.

"Hey, yeah that is! It looks like they're getting a new exhibit for display. The next Coin must be part of it."

"Uh oh, looks like we're not the only ones who know about it now," Mavis said, pointing to the smoke as the vision showed Daolon Wong walking towards the museum. "We have to go now!"

"We can't possibly stand up to Daolon Wong like this! Half our team - the super powered half, might I add - are both sick with a severe case of food poisoning and I'm all out of ingredients for attack spells!"

"We still have the Cat, Bat and Falcon Coin," Mavis said, holding the three up between her fingers.

"No offence, Mavis, but I doubt that's going to help us against someone who can control dark energy and summon demons."

"Well, it's not like we have any other options. Either you and I go down to the museum to kick some Dark Chi Wizard butt or we stand by and let him take this next Coin."

"Ugh, I hate it when you use logic against me," Tim sighed in annoyance.

"It doesn't happen often, but when it does, you can't win against the Callahan Thunder!" she beamed.

"All right, we'll improvise. Here's hoping nothing bad happens."

"Great, Tim, jinx it before we even walk out the door," Mavis remarked, lightly knocking the wooden coffee table.

"Wait…" Mala grunted.

"What is it Mala?" Tim asked, bending down to his knees in front of Mala.

"W-we can still help," she murmured, raising her head slightly.

"No offence, Mala, but you can barely stand," Mavis pointed out.

"No, I mean another way. L-Liam and I can give you some of our demon Chi."

"Hold on, you mean to tell me that you can share your powers… and you didn't bring this up before?!" Mavis barked.

"Mavis, priorities!" Tim scolded.

"But, think of all the times I could have been shooting crystals or controlling shadows and-aw…." Mavis pouted sadly when Tim silenced her.

"Wait, we can do that?" Liam asked in a pant from the couch.

"I've seen it before. You'll get a bit of our powers and you'll change to look a bit like our demon forms," she explained.

"And you're sure this'll work?" Tim asked.

"Positive," she answered, weakly holding out her hand for Tim to take.

"Ok." Tim took Mala's hand in his and suddenly felt a surge of power envelop him. He almost immediately let go of her hand, but the short time they held contact was enough for Mala to transfer a small portion of her Chi to him.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Tim, you look badass!" Mavis chortled.

"I-I feel…" Tim couldn't find the words to describe the sensation. His body didn't feel any different, but when he walked up to the mirror, he nearly jumped back in surprise. "Whoa!" his skin was pale blue like Mala's, his hair white and eyes red too, though they didn't glow like hers. His ears were pointed and he was covered in crystal armor from head to toe just like Mala. "This… this is incredible!"

"Me! Me next! Me, me, me!" Mavis bubbled, jumping up and down with anticipation. She hopped over to Liam, who weakly held out his own hand.

"Good luck," he whispered with a weak smile.

"The Callahan Thunder appreciates your concern, but she doesn't need luck!" Mavis boasted with a cheeky grin, taking Liam's hand in hers. She tried to keep a tight hold, but had to pull away because of the strange sensation the power transferal sent through her entire body. She stepped back a bit and looked at her hands. They were sharp and pointed like Liam's in his demon form and her skin was now a dark brown. She rushed over to the mirror, pushing Tim aside. Her eyes, like Tim's, were now red and her hair was darker. She had little horns sprouting on the top of her head and little wings sprouting from her arms. "This might just be the coolest day of my life!"

"Ok, you two, uh, sit tight. We'll be back!" Tim said as Mala and Liam simply waved with a weak arm and groaned. "Ok, so how does Mala do the wing thing?" Tim asked, as they made their way up to the roof.

"I dunno, try thinking 'wings' reaaalllly hard!" Mavis suggested.

"Well, all right. Come on, wings," he muttered when all of a sudden, the crystal apparatuses floating over his back morphed into wings. While Mala's wings original had three crystal segments, Tim's had only two. "Huh, well whaddya know? It worked! Let's head over to the museum before Wong gets away with the Coin." Tim jumped into the air and desperately tried to find his balance as he flew. "Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"Don't fight it, just relax!" Mavis shouted to him.

"How are you doing this so easily?" Tim cried in amazement as Mavis glided next to him flawlessly.

"What can I say? I'm a natural flyer," she boasted. "Plus I had a lot of practice with the Falcon Coin!"

As they came up to the museum, they landed on a rooftop right across the street. Mavis landed easily while Tim fidgeted to slow his descent. "Whoa, ok, slow, slow," he repeated to himself. He slid on the rooftop, but managed to regain his balance.

"It doesn't look like Wong's here yet. I mean, there would be a lot of smoke, wouldn't there?" Mavis asked. All of a sudden, a large explosion came from inside the museum, shattering some of the windows as thick smoke poured out. "Well… that's our cue!"

"Let's go. We don't know how to use Liam and Mala's powers so the longer we stay, the more of an advantage Wong'll have over us."

"Ten four! Operation: Callahan's Five is a go!"

"Wait… Why Callahan's Five?" asked Tim, pulling his foot back from the rooftop edge as he turned to face Mavis.

"Well, because we were already at this museum once to steal something and now we're back at it again. Its like a sequel! That's why they called the sequel to Ocean's Eleven Ocean's Twelve."

"But last time it made sense because there was four of us; this time it's only you and me, so it should technically be Callahan's Two," Tim argued.

"But this is the sequel! Everyone knows the sequel gets one more number value than the last!"

"They called it Ocean's Twelve because Julia Roberts was part of the heist too, making the heist headcount come to twelve."

"It's Callahan's Five, Tim! It doesn't make sense any other way. Callahan's Two just sounds stupid."

"Ugh, why do I bother?" Tim asked himself.

"I wonder that too. You know you can never win against Callahan logic!" They made their way through one of the museum windows and carefully wandered through the halls in case they ran into any guards that were still around.

"Well, it doesn't look like we'll have to worry about the guards," Tim said, noticing the four unconscious security guards on the floor.

"Over here!" Mavis whispered. They traveled down the corridor as could pick up a voice that got louder as they grew closer to it.

"Aha, here we are. What a coincidence that another Coin brings me back here, at least this time I don't have those meddling ki- Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Daolon Wong angrily barked as Tim and Mavis jumped out of the corridor, blocking his path to the exit. "Wait, you're the two human children. Why do you look like your demon friends?" he asked confused.

"It's a little something called 'sharing'," Mavis smirked proudly.

"Oh, so they shared their power with you. That would explain their _unfortunate_ absence. Unfortunate for you, that is!" Wong quickly whipped out his sceptre and fired a dark energy blast at the duo. Mavis and Tim jumped to the side to avoid the blast.

Tim waved his arms, trying to mimic the way Mala would form crystal shards, but instead spikes appeared in front of him traveling forward. "What? That's not what I meant to do!" he frantically whined.

Mavis opened her mouth to unleash a sonic scream, but coughed roughly when nothing came out. "What the? How does he do the screaming thing?" She opened her mouth to try again, but like before, nothing came out. "Ugh! This is nothing like the Bat Coin!" she fumed.

"Haha, looks like you two need some practice with your new powers. Allow me to help!" Daolon Wong held open his hands as dark tendrils came out of the mouths on his palms. These tendrils slithered over to Tim and Mavis, wrapping tightly around their bodies as he raised them into the air. "Too bad your friends couldn't give you some advice on how to use their powers! Maybe if they had, you would have at least stood a chance. I think perhaps I'll take some of that Demon Chi instead."

"Not a chance! You let us go right… NOW!" As Mavis shouted at the top of her lungs, a piercingly loud sonic scream shot forward from her mouth, blasting Daolon Wong across the room. His dark tendrils disappeared, freeing Tim and Mavis as they landed on the floor.

"Mavis, how did you do that?" Tim asked in amazement.

"I-I don't know. I just got really mad and I really wanted to scream in his face!"

"Well, whatever you did worked! Let me try." Tim closed his eyes and took a deep breath to concentrate. Suddenly, he punched the floor of the museum, creating a trail of spiking crystals that continued straight to Wong. However, Wong managed to avoid it at the last second.

"Oh no you don't!" Mavis unleashed another sonic scream, following after Wong as he ran across the room. Her sonic scream hit the crystals Tim had just formed, shattering them to pieces and sending them hurtling straight towards Wong, who took cover behind a display case. "Whoa, did you see that?"

"I did!"

"Looks like we've learned something that even Liam and Mala didn't know!" They moved up to the display case they saw Wong duck behind, preparing to ambush him, but when they did, he wasn't there. "What the? He was here just a second ago!"

"Surprise!" Wong cackled, surprising the two of them with a dark energy attack. The force of the blast knocked them right in the middle of the room.

As Mavis pushed herself up and groaned, she looked up to see a chandelier dangling in the centre of the ceiling. "Tim," she said, looking to him before motioning to the chandler with her head. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I sure hope so," he said nervously. He closed his eyes in concentration again before disappearing completely.

"I think that's about enough fun you two have had tonight! It's too bad, you might have actually won if you brought the half of your team that actually stood a chance. But you children are always so arrogant; you think you can do whatever you want without any consequences! Well, the consequence for defying Daolon Wong is death!" he bellowed, raising his staff.

"More like Daolon Wrong!" Mavis swiftly kicked her legs under Wong's knocking him roughly onto the floor as the impact momentarily stunned him. Mavis jumped away and placed her hands on the ground, summoning shadow tendrils of her own that held Wong in place. "Tim, now!"

"What?" Wong looked up and gasped, seeing Tim reappear right above the chandelier.

"Here goes nothing!" Tim said hopefully, slicing through the cord with a crystal blade. Wong screamed as the chandelier fell from the ceiling and crashed onto the ground below, shattering most of the glass ornaments than hung onto it. Tim rejoined Mavis on the ground and when the dust cleared, a small silver coin rolled over to their feet. "I can't believe that worked!" Tim cried in disbelief.

"I can! I saw it on a cartoon once!" Mavis beamed, proudly holding the coin. "Oooh, look another birdie!"

"I wonder what this one does," Tim added. "Wait, you saw that in a cartoo-Nevermind."

"Let's get back to Mala and Liam and find out." As they flew back to Mala's apartment, Mavis suddenly stopped, "Oh wait, just one second."

"What?" Tim asked.

Mavis disappeared down the opposite direction of Mala's apartment before returning a couple minutes later with a lizard in her arms. "I figured I'd bring Phineas along. Maybe he can still use the Coin even though he ate it. Isn't that right my majestic little snuggle muffin?" Mavis childishly asked Phineas. "Who's my majestic dragon? Who's my little booby trap?" She lightly scratched Phineas' upper chest and neck, earning an affectionate growl that hummed from his throat.

When they returned to Mala's apartment, Liam was no longer on the couch and was instead sprawled out on the floor while Mala was in the bathroom.

"Hey, Mala, how you doin'?" Mavis asked tenderly.

"Gr-great… someone threw up; I don't know where and I can't remember if it was me or Liam… but someone definitely threw up in my apartment" Mala muttered groggily.

"Well, you are sitting right by the toilet. Do you think it might be you?"

"Maybe…"

"Let's just pop open the seat cover and see, ok?"

"Mkay…" Mala murmured.

"Well, good news, the toilet is vomit free. So then who vomited… and where? Detective Callahan is on the case!" Mavis declared, raising her arm into the air.

"Uh yeah, Detective Callahan? I think I solved your missing vomit mystery," said Tim, pointing to a large potted plant in the corner of the living room.

"T-tell Mala I owe her a new plant. I'll get her something nice to replace the one I ruined," Liam muttered from the floor.

"With your vomit?" Mavis asked.

"Yes… the plant I ruined with my vomit," he answered, far too weak to argue.

"Ok, well, the good news is, we got the Coin!" Tim announced.

"Yay" and "great" they both whispered weakly.

"And we also brought my pet bearded dragon Phineas! With him, you'll feel better in no time!" Mavis beamed. It turns out, Mavis was correct. Phineas was able to utilize the Coin's power since he swallowed it and was able to cure Liam and Mala of their food poisoning. Once they were cured, Tim and a relatively reluctant Mavis their borrowed Demon Chi.

"I gotta admit, you two did an amazing job!" Liam exclaimed.

"Yeah, even with having never used our powers before, you actually managed to beat Wong and get the Coin. I'm really impressed," added Mala.

"Oh, we know," Mavis said confidently. "So what's the latest addition to our collection do?"

"Phoenix immortality," Mala answered. "The power to protect the user from all manner of physical harm and damage. It basically makes you indestructible."

Their conversation was cut short when they heard a thick choking followed by a wet splash sound. Mavis looked under the coffee table and smiled. "Good news, guys! Looks like we don't have to wait for the Winged Unicorn Coin to pass through. Phineas just threw it up!" Mavis reached under and pulled out a vomit drenched coin.

"Ewww!" they all squealed.

"Mavis, for your sake, I hope you're cleaning that up. I've already had someone else vomit in my home and I would like to keep this as a one time thing," Mala said.

"All right, all right, I'll clean it. Who's my little champion? Who threw up the coin we needed? Who's my good boy? That's right, it's you!" Mavis chirped, affectionately rubbing Phineas as he hissed in delight. "So, anyone else hungry or is it just me?"

"I'm starving. Anything but meatloaf, though," said Liam.

"Seconded," Mala chimed.

The four went out to a nearby pizza place and sat outside enjoying their normal cheese pizza, since Liam and Mala insisted against the meat lover's pizza for obvious reasons. Phineas sat coiled around Mavis' shoulder, trying every so often to sneak a little bite of her pizza.

"So, why exactly did you call this operation Callahan's Five?" Liam asked.

"Oh, here we go," Tim muttered.

"Because, this was like the sequel to the first time we were at the museum!" Mavis argued.

"But, when it was Callahan's Four, there was actually four of us. This time it was just you and Tim," added Mala.

"No, you're not getting it! It's the sequel, so the number has to be one more, so it's five!" Mavis was cut short when she noticed someone walk up to their table. "Yo, spiky head, can we help you with something?"

"Mala…" the boy said.

Mala quietly gasped and her eyes widened in hearing that familiar voice. Her friends looked at her face in worry. She nearly froze in place, but was able to slowly turn her head to look at the person who called her name. Though she had only seen him in this form once before, there was no mistaking it. "Drago…" she whispered breathlessly.

Liam, Tim and Mavis stayed quiet while Mala and this "Drago" simply stared at each other in silence. "Ok, now we're Callahan's Five!" Mavis whispered loudly.

* * *

><p><strong>So, I think it's fair to say that Mavis is also our resident pop culture refrencer. So, fingers crossed for more moments like that! <strong>**And yes, Drago is finally back, but as I'm sure most of your smartiepants guessed, not everyone is going to be happy about that.**

**Next chapter: Mala deals with Drago's return while the next Coin is discovered in an aquarium.**


	9. Swimming with the Fishes

**So, Drago is officially back! But his return may not be entirely welcome by all. Just a reminder to please put a bit more into your reviews other than "I like this" and such. Not that I don't appreciate the feedback, but please tell me why you like/didn't like it. **

**We do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, only our characters and this plot. Any canon elements mentioned are property of the show's creators. **

* * *

><p>"Demon Stalkers… Shadow Hunters? No, Night Crawlers? No, no, that one's been done before," Mavis muttered, scratching something out on a piece of paper with her pencil. "Dark Slayers? Shadow Slayers?" she continued asking herself.<p>

"Mavis, are you sure that's really the best thing to be doing right now?" asked Liam.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure your best friend could use your support right about now," said Tim.

"Well, she seems perfectly content wearing a hole in her carpet with all that back and forth pacing. When she's ready to talk about it, I'll totally be there for her." As Mavis spoke, Mala paced back and forth, the wooden floor squeaking beneath her heels as she spun.

"So, uh, Mala, do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" Tim asked meekly. All of a sudden, Mala whipped her arm with an angry scream, throwing a crystal shard straight into the wall. "OK! We don't have to talk about it!" Tim squealed, ducking against the couch.

"Oh!" Mala covered her mouth with her hands. "I'm so sorry, Tim! I didn't mean to do that, honest!"

"Oh, I think you meant to do that, just not at Tim," Liam said.

"So you gonna tell us who that guy was, or not?" Mavis asked.

"Ok," Mala took a deep breath, "Um, do you remember when I told you about why I left San Francisco?"

"Him? You mean that was the guy who nearly flattened San Francisco?" Liam shouted.

"Ok, hold on. Start from the beginning!" exclaimed Tim.

"Ok, his name is Drago. The first time we met was when we were kids and we really hit it off. We were both half-demons, and we bonded over that fact. But when his mother died, his demon father, Shen Du, was going to take him in. I didn't see him again since until a couple months ago," she explained.

"Wait wait, Shen Du? The Shen Du? Fire Demon Sorcerer Shen Du? The guy who's twelve talismans inspired the creation of the very thirteen coins we're chasing after? You mean that guy is his son?" Liam exclaimed in shock.

"I thought you guys said Shen Du was a total pussy," Mavis said.

"I didn't say that," Liam protested.

"Ok, yeah, 'pussy' was my word, but I was just paraphrasing what you said."

"Ok, yes, Shen Du is by far one of the weakest Demon Sorcerers, but he's still a force to be reckoned with compared to humans."

"Yeah. Before I met you guys, he was my only real friend," said Mala.

"Awwwwww," Mavis squealed, running up to Mala and tightly hugging her.

"So then what happened when you met up with him?" Tim asked.

"Well, he asked me to help him locate the seven Demon Chis of his aunts and uncles."

"Huh?" Mavis asked, cocking her eyebrow in confusion.

"Ok, when a demon is banished to the Netherworld by a Chi Wizard, they usually use some sort of object of magical power. During the process, a bit of that demon's Chi can cling onto that object," she explained.

"Oh, so it's like when you two lent us your Demon Chi, right?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. Anyway, he wanted to find the seven Chis of his family to take over the world. Although, when he asked for my help, he told me he was going to use it to create a world for half-demons. And I believed him. At the time, I thought that's what I wanted: a world where people like Drago and I could be among our own."

"At the time?" asked Liam.

"Well, you guys have shown me that demons and humans can live together. Why would I need a world only of half-demons when I have you guys?"

"Awwwwwwwwww!" Mavis squealed, hugging Mala again.

"Ok, ok, Mavis," Mala sighed in defeat, lightly patting Mavis' back until she moved out of the hug. "And by the time I figured out what he was really planning, it was too late. I was just getting ready to leave the city when he somehow managed to get a hold of all the Demon Chis. Within minutes, there were demons everywhere. I knew there was only one thing I could do. I went to confront him, but he was too strong. Some Chi Wizards - it's a long story - managed to defeat him though. The last time I saw him, he was being dragged into the Demon Netherworld."

"So then how'd he get back here?" Tim asked.

"I don't know! Wh-what is he even doing here?" she cried frantically.

"Oh, here we go," Mavis muttered, as Mala began pacing back and forth again.

"It doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, could he have gotten back on his own somehow?" Tim asked.

"Nope, it doesn't work like that. Normally by default, demons could travel through the human and demon world freely. But once they get banished by a Chi Wizard or magical spell, that door closes for them. They can't open the door themselves anymore, but someone else can always open for them," said Liam.

"So then maybe someone opened the door for him?" Tim asked.

"But who opened the door then?" Mala asked next.

"Why don't we ask him?" Mavis suggested.

"No way! I am not talking to him!" Mala protested angrily.

"Well, I'm sure he'll tell us. He has been sitting outside your door since we got back."

"Wait, what?" Mala turned to Mavis. Liam and Tim quickly jumped out of their seats and made for the front door, fighting and pushing each other to look through the peephole. Mala joined them and shoved them aside before looking for herself. Sure enough, Drago was sitting on the small bench in the hallway, nervously tapping his foot as he stared at the ceiling, occasionally glancing at Mala's door now and then. "I-I can't deal with this right now! I need some air." Mala opened her front door, which immediately alerted Drago as his head shot up. They locked eyes for a moment as Drago stood from his seat on the bench. Seconds passed but to the two of them it felt like hours. A storm of emotions swirled inside Mala as she stared into his eyes. She was shocked, afraid, angry beyond belief, but somewhere beneath all that fear and rage, there was a tiny little spark of relief, almost happiness at seeing him again. But the instant she felt any joy at seeing him, those feelings were instantly buried over with unforgiving rage and heartbreak. When she was finally able to tear herself away, she sped down the hallway to the stairs, followed by an awkward troupe of her friends, who were left uncertain of what to do or say.

Mala kept going down the street, not looking back to see if Drago or even her friends were following, until she reached Kuang's store. "Mala, what a pleasant surprise! Oh, something is wrong…" he said as Mala sat down at the counter. "What's the matter, my dear?" he asked, as Tim, Mavis and Liam joined them in the store. Kuang poured a cup of tea and handed it to Mala, who eagerly accepted the cup.

"Two words, Kuang: Ex-boyfriend," said Mavis.

"Technically, that's one word," Liam said.

"No, it's hyphenated!" Mavis argued, "That's like combining two words but not entirely, so they're two words… right?"

"Technically he was never my boyfriend. Can we please talk about something else please?" Mala exclaimed.

"Well, I've restocked those ingredients you ordered last week!" Kuang smiled.

"Oh, perfect! I guess I'll start working on the next tracking spell once we get back to your place," said Tim.

"Actually, I've been getting a lot of complaints about the smell from all the Chi spell preparations," said Mala, "So I don't think we'll be able to do Chi spells at my place anymore."

"What about your house, Tim?" Liam asked.

"Are you kidding? My mom is a clean freak! She throws a fit whenever I leave a dirty sock on the floor of my bedroom! Who knows what she'd do if she caught whiff of Chi spell ingredients."

"Well we can't do it at my place. Phineas has a very sensitive digestive system," said Mavis.

"Yeah, we noticed," Liam said, "and doing them at the clock tower probably won't be a good idea. I don't want to draw unnecessary attention to my home and the last thing I need around there is someone thinking that what they're smelling is a dead body."

"So then where are we gonna prepare my Chi spells?" asked Tim.

"Oh, why don't you just use my workshop?" Kuang suggested.

"Workshop?" they all asked.

"Of course! When my father ran the store, I would study in his workshop just in the back of the store. You're welcome to use it for your spell preparations!" Kuang made his way over to the door behind the counter as the others followed. He opened the door and stepped aside, revealing a small workshop with bookshelves, a single desk and stool.

"Kuang, this is perfect! Do you mind if we?" Tim started.

"Oh, by all means, go right ahead," Kuang smiled. "Oh, and there's been a boy standing outside my shop since you got here. Do you know him?" Mavis, Tim and Liam quickly dashed out to the counter and sure enough Drago was standing against a lamppost right outside the front of the store.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," said Mala.

"Aw, he's following you around like a cute little puppy dog," Mavis squealed.

"Don't sympathize with him, Mavis," Mala cut in.

"Mala, I know you want to avoid him, but it looks like he's just going to keep following us - or rather you - wherever we go. You might as well talk to him," said Liam.

"But-"

"You'll feel better once you get it over with. We'll be in the back working on the tracking spell," said Tim.

"Ugh, easy for you to say," she groaned. As her friends disappeared into the back of the store, Mala walked out of the store. Drago pushed himself off the lamppost he was leaning on and straightened up as she approached him.

"Y-you look different," he said, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"I am different," she answered. "After San Francisco, I needed a change."

"Well, you look good," he complimented.

"What are you doing here, Drago? How did you even get here? The last time I checked, you got yourself a one way ticket to the Demon Netherworld!"

"It's a long story."

"So make it short."

"Ok, well after I got banished by that old man, my old man and I ran into my aunts and uncles. They took their Chi back and roughed me up a bit. I deserved it though, after everything I did… to you," he said, looking at her sadly.

"I won't argue with that, but that doesn't explain how you got back."

"Well, I had a little help in that department. Your mom."

"My mother? Lang Yan?" Mala asked in surprise.

"It wasn't easy though; I had to fight her for her portal back here."

"Portal? She couldn't have opened her portal after my father banished her!"

"Do you remember when Chan's old man tried to drain your Chi and the spell your father placed on your old necklace protected you before it shattered?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Well, when that happened, the spell that bound your mother's portal weakened."

"Wait, if she had all that time with her portal opened, then why did she wait until you got banished to open it? That doesn't make sense!"

"Mala, I'm not going to pretend I know what goes on in your mom's head, but she gave me a second chance," he said, reaching his hand down to grasp hers. "After I was banished, I realized that none of those things were important. The Demon Chi, supreme control? You're the only thing that matters to me, Mala. Please, I-I want to make it up to you," he pleaded.

"I trusted you once Drago and it brought me nothing but heartache. You tricked me into helping you take over the world and I'm supposed to believe that now that you've lost, you've had some sort of epiphany? That you're good now?" she cried, tearing her hand from his.

"Mala, please, I know how it sounds, but please just give me a chance to prove to you that I've changed!"

"What did you think was going to happen, Drago? Did you honestly think that you could just come here and apologize and I'd forgive you? You destroyed any chance of me ever trusting you again!"

"Mala!" Mavis shouted. Drago and Mala turned to see her friends running out of the store towards them. "We've got the next Coin; it's at the aquarium!"

"Coin? What are they talking about? Mala, who are these people?" Drago asked.

"They're my friends, real friends. It's something you wouldn't know anything about."

"Ouch," said Mavis.

"Mavis!" Tim scolded.

"Right, private conversation, sorry," she said, zipping her lips. "But in all seriousness, we should probably go and get that Coin before Daolon Wrong shows up."

"Mala, what's going on?" he asked.

"It's none of your concern," she said, "Just… just stay out of our way."

* * *

><p>"Ok, the Coin has to be somewhere inside this aquarium," said Tim as they walked through the hall surrounded by fish tanks. "I've already set the security cameras on a loop and disabled the security systems, so we should be fine."<p>

"Man, there's like hundreds of tanks here! How are we supposed to know which one the Coin is in?" Mavis exclaimed. "By the way, I'm calling this operation 'Shark Tank', just so everyone knows."

"Uh, guys, I think I found the solution to that roadblock," said Mala. They joined her by the window display of one of the larger tanks and noticed something small and shiny sitting at the bottom of the tank.

"This is one of those outdoor tanks. We can get to up from upstairs," said Tim.

"But I'm afraid you won't be going there!" The four turned around to see the demon hunter standing before them with his sword at the ready.

"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me!" Mavis moaned.

"You see, once I figured out you were searching for these strange coins, I went looking for one on my own. I figured it was only a matter of time before you would start looking for it."

"So this was a trap?" Linos asked.

"That's right! The two of you were smart to use your human forms to mask your demon aura, so I figured instead of going after you, why not have you just come to me?" He charged forward, his sword ready to swing, but Mala stepped forward and blocked it with her pink claws.

"Linos, you take Tim outside and get the Coin! Mavis and I will deal with the hunter!" she cried.

"All right, you two be careful!" Linos cried back as he grabbed Tim and flew down the hall.

"Oh no you don't!" the hunter cried, throwing three knives towards them. Mala stomped her foot and a crystal pillar rose from the floor, blocking the knives as Linos and Tim disappeared. Mala roughly pushed the hunter back, who stumbled to regain his balance.

"All right, Mr. hunter, let's see how you deal with the Bat Coin!" Mavis grinned. Just as she opened her mouth to unleash the Coin's sonic scream, Mala clapped her hand over Mavis' mouth to silence her.

"No, Mavis! That sonic scream could shatter the glass of the fish tanks!"

"No! Not the fish!" Mavis gasped. The hunter threw more knives at them as Mala shielded Mavis with her own body. "Mala! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine! Crystal armor," she winked. Mala jumped up to engage the hunter in a clash of blades.

"All right Callahan, can't let Mala have all the fun!" Mavis ran up to the hunter and grabbed him around the shoulders from behind.

"Argh!" he cried, trying to get Mavis off him. "Why are you helping these demons?" he shouted.

"These demons happen to be my best friends!" she shouted back.

"Friends? Demons are evil! They don't know the meaning of the word 'friendship'!"

"They're not like other demons and they're better than most of the other humans I know!" Mavis argued. The hunter jumped onto his back, the impact knocking the air out of Mavis. As she coughed to clear her chest, the hunter grabbed the hood of her sweater and stabbed his sword through it and into the floor, pinning her down.

"That should keep you out of my hair. And now for you!" He pulled out a dried gecko and aimed it at Mala, muttering a spell. A bright green light shot out from the gecko and hit Mala right in the chest. The energy of the Chi spell surged around her as she struggled to move.

"Y-you're a Chi Wizard?" she asked, shocked.

"Not quite," he grinned. "My parents were killed by your kind before my training could be completed. But I know enough spells to put demons like you in your place. Any last words?"

"I've got one!"

The hunter blinked in surprise as he turned to the source of the voice, only to be greeted by a roaring fireball. The fireball struck him and force knocked him roughly against the wall, knocking him out in the process. The dried gecko fell to the floor and Drago incinerated it with a blast of fire. The spell around Mala faded and Drago rushed to her side to help her up, but she roughly pulled herself away from him.

"Drago, what are you doing here?" Mala asked angrily.

"I figured you might need my help," he said.

"We don't need your help!" she argued.

"It looked like you needed my help just now." Mala narrowed her eyes at him and was rather surprised when Drago didn't do the same. That was always what he would do when they got into a disagreement back in the junkyard in San Francisco.

"Uh, guys, a little help here?" Mavis asked. Mala made her way over to Mavis and pulled the sword that kept her pinned out of the ground. "Thanks," she said, as Mala helped her up. "Check it out, cool souvenir, eh? Whoa-ho-ho, is that what his demon form looks like?"

"Uh, yes," Drago responded.

"Dude, that is awesome! You're like a dragon!" she beamed excitedly.

"I am a dragon," he said.

"Even better!"

"Mavis!" Mala cried in annoyance.

"Sorry, Mala, but a dragon fire demon? You're making it real hard not to like this guy."

"So, are either of you going to fill me in on what you're doing here and who that is?" Drago asked, pointing to the unconscious hunter.

"Long story, hot shot. We'll fill you in later!" cried Mavis.

"Let's just meet back up with Tim and Linos," said Mala.

* * *

><p>"Whoa!" Tim cried, diving behind a flipped patio table. "Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Daolon Wong showed up," he muttered to himself.<p>

"Tim, do something!" Linos cried, repelling Wong's spells with a shadow wall.

Tim stood up over the patio table, ready to fire a spell, but Wong beat him to it. The spell knocked Tim over the railing and into the outdoor tank below. "Tim!" Linos cried, looking over the railing to see Tim surfacing as he whipped the water off his face.

"I'm ok!" Tim gave Linos a thumbs up as he returned to fighting Wong. As Tim put his glasses back on, he noticed something shining at the bottom of the tank. _'The Coin!'_ Without a second thought, Tim dove into the tank and swam as fast as he could to the bottom. The Coin slipped through his fingers the first few times he tried to grab it, but he finally clenched the Coin in his fist before swimming back up to the surface. Along the way, he caught a glimpse of something grey swimming on the other side of the tank. It was too blurry to make out underwater, but when he surfaced, he noticed a dorsal fin coming straight towards him. "Oh no, oh no!" he cried frantically. He braced himself for what was coming towards him, but stopped when he heard a playful squeaking. "Oh, a dolphin. Thank god," he sighed as the dolphin squeaked at him again, before splashing him with water. "Great…" he muttered, before swimming to the edge of the tank and pulling himself up. He tried to shake some of the water that was clinging to his clothes off to little avail before looking at the Coin in his palm. It was eight-sided, shaped like an octagon, and had a dark blue shark emblem. "A shark," he chuckled to himself over the irony, "of course. Linos!"

Linos appeared at the railing as Tim called for him. "What is it?"

"Here!" Tim shouted, tossing the Coin. Linos reached his hand out to grab the Coin, but Daolon Wong swooped in between them and seized it in his hand.

"Thank you," Wong snickered. He turned to blast Linos, knocking him back into a patio table, knocking it over. "So long, children!" Daolon Wong waved his arms and unleashed a thick cloud of smoke. When is cleared, he was nowhere to be found.

"What happened?" Mala, Mavis and Drago came running up to Linos, who had just fished Tim out of the dolphin tank.

"Wong got away with the Coin," Linos answered.

"Oh great! Did you at least see what animal it was?" Mavis asked.

"It was a shark," Tim replied.

"Man, I bet it had a cool power," Mavis lamented. "And what are the chances right? Shark Coin? Shark operation name? At least I got something out of this," she said, admiring the hunter's sword.

"Is that the hunter's?" Liam asked.

"Yup! Whoa!" she exclaimed, as the sword's blade suddenly collapsed into the handle. "I must have pressed or touched something."

"You know you can't bring that to school, right?" Tim asked.

"Tch, y-yeah, of course!" she answered after a slight hesitation before sadly pouting.

"Well, here's hoping it doesn't prove to be helpful to Wong. By the way, what is he doing here?" Linos asked, noticing Drago.

"He followed us," Mala said, with a vicious glare.

"I doubt we're going to get lucky like last time. Wong's got to have figured out to place a shielding spell on the Coin by now. I think the best thing we can do is try to take it from him the next time we encounter him," said Tim.

"So, is anyone going to bother filling me in?" Drago asked, cutting into the conversation.

"Basically, we're trying to find these thirteen Coins some Chi Wizard made way back when when he was trying to copy your old man's magic talismans before Daolon Wong gets them and does who knows what with them!" Mavis ranted.

"There you go. What we're doing in a nutshell," Linos said.

"How do you know who my father is?"

"Mala filled us in on that," Liam said.

"And I'm guessing that shrivelled up, old man was Daolon Wong?" Drago asked.

"Yes. So what is he joining us now?" Tim asked.

"Absolutely not! Let me make this clear, Drago. Don't get in our way! Just stay away from me and my friends!" Mala glared at Drago so intensely that it made him step back and hang his head low in shame. Mala formed her wings behind her and leapt into the air, disappearing into the starry sky.

"Well… this is awkward," Mavis muttered awkwardly. "We should, yeah we should go. Linos?"

"Right," he said. He wrapped his arms around Tim and Mavis' waists before taking off after Mala.

Drago watched them disappear from sight and sighed sadly. He moved over to the railing and gripped the cold steel tightly, gazing down to the dolphin below. "It's not going to be easy, is it… to get her to forgive me?" The dolphin squeaked and clicked before spitting water in Drago's face. "Yeah, that's what I thought," he groaned, wiping the water off his face.

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><p><strong>Well, as usual, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I encourage you to review with your thoughts, suggestions, etc.<strong>

**Next chapter: Drago's help may be just what the group needs when TWO coins appear at the local zoo. **


	10. Animal House

**Well, with term papers fast approaching, I won't be able to write as much. But knowing me, I'll find some time in between everything. I always do need some kind of distraction while I'm doing school work. But then again, don't we all?**

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><p>"So, is it just me, or are we having a lot of field trips?" Tim asked. The four of them sat at one of the outdoor tables just outside the cafe of their local zoo. All around them, people were walking or tending to their children who were either squealing with delight or throwing a tantrum because they never wanted to leave.<p>

"Aren't we supposed to be studying the animals for biology or something?" Liam asked.

"Please! One time, we were studying physics in class and the school booked a field trip to the amusement part. Now, what do you think we did then? Physics or ride the roller coaster until I puked?" Mavis asked.

"I'm gonna say puke," said Mala.

"Correctomundo, girlfriend!" Mavis said with a wink and thumbs up.

"I just still can't believe he's here," Mala said, angrily glaring at Drago, who sat at a nearby table. The other seats at his table were filled with girls from their grade also on the field trip. Drago simply ignored them, which only made him all the more alluring to them, much to Drago's annoyance. She could still remember when he first showed up in their class during homeroom earlier in the week.

"Class, we have a new student joining us. Please welcome, Damon Lee," the teacher had said. 'Damon Lee' was the alias Drago chose to go by. 'Drago' was the name his mother gave him, but it wasn't exactly a common name among humans. It was probably the same reason Linos chose 'Liam' as his human alias. And to say Drago's addition to the class was very receptive would be an understatement. Mala had rolled her eyes in contempt when she noticed nearly all the girls in class except for herself and Mavis practically swooning and melting at the sight of him, even though Mala knew that deep down, she reacted nearly the same way when she first saw Drago's human form for the first time.

"Mala, I know you're upset about this, but you're going to have to get over it sooner or later," Tim said. "Carrying around all this negative energy isn't going to be good for you or the team."

"And you have to admit, if he hadn't shown up at the aquarium, that hunter would have finished you," said Mavis.

"Fine! Drago saved me, but that doesn't mean I'm going to forgive him!" she argued, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Just a question here: what are you more mad about, Mala? The fact that he tried to take over the world or that he lied and tricked you into helping him?" asked Liam.

"Wha? What's the difference?" she asked.

"One's a generic anger and the other is personal. If I had to guess, I'd say you're more mad about him betraying your trust. Deep down, I think you're not mad at him for trying to take over the world," said Liam.

"It's still bad! He did a horrible thing!"

"Maybe, but you've gotta admit, for the son of Shen Du, he could have turned a lot worse. I'm talking leagues worse! Besides, we all do stupid things when we're teenagers."

"I once drove my parents' car onto the freeway when I was twelve. Don't get me wrong, it was stupid and dangerous and I was grounded for six months… but really cool," Mavis grinned.

"You know, I think I've just gotten so accustomed to you Mavis, that nothing you say surprises me anymore," said Mala.

"Ho ho, don't count your chickens before they hatch, Mala," Mavis warned.

"But back to what I was saying. When you first met Drago, he was a good kid right?"

"Yeah, he was nice and really sweet," Mala said.

"And that all changed when Shen Du took him in?" Liam asked, to which Mala nodded. "Well consider this: Shen Du is like all the other Demon Sorcerers: callous, cruel and violent, not to mention he probably hates half-breeds and wouldn't give Drago any leniency as his son."

"What's your point?" Mala asked.

"My point is, cut the guy some slack."

"Uh, you seem to be forgetting that he nearly destroyed an entire city!"

"Oh come on, Mala, how many of us haven't had our 'car on the freeway' moments? Besides, the news said the entire city was evacuated in time. It's not like he killed anyone," said Mavis. "City destroying is probably just the demon equivalent of taking our parents' car on the freeway when you're not old enough to drive!"

"If I didn't have my mother, I'd probably spend hours trying to get my dad's approval by doing stuff and acting the way he wanted me to act: like a real demon. Hot shot over there probably only turned out the way he did because he was so desperate for any attention from his old man that he completely changed his entire personality just to get a single approving glance or 'I'm proud of you, son'. I mean, imagine how different I would be if I was more like my old man!" Liam suggested.

"Don't even begin to suggest that," Tim shuddered. "We dealt with Tzan Ren once and once was enough!"

"All I'm saying, Mala, is that Drago really could have turned out a lot worse. And now he's turned over a new leaf, begging for a second chance. Come on, I know you must have read his aura and saw the same thing I did."

"Aura?" Tim asked.

Liam took out a piece of paper from his bag and scribbled down two stick figures. "Humans and demon all naturally have an aura, sort of like a life energy that can be used to tell if a person is good or bad. Demons and Chi Wizards can naturally detect and see that aura. A blue aura denotes goodness and benevolence and a red aura denotes corruption and malevolence," he explained, scribbling an outline around each stick figure in blue and red, "or in simple terms: good and evil. Now, a very powerful magic user or demon can produce a false aura to trick others, but that's a very advanced skill that only fully realized Chi Wizards and Demon Sorcerers can attain, one that I'm certain a guy like Drago doesn't have." When Mala stayed silent, Liam continued speaking, "Mala, you know I'm right about this. That guy is swimming in blue aura. If he says he's turning over a new leaf, he means it."

"Ok fine! I read his aura and he's not lying. I was so sure that it was just some kind of trick, like he was trying to fool me again."

"And now you're pissed because you were wrong about that," said Mavis.

"Even if Drago's serious about turning over a new leaf, that doesn't mean I'm just going to forgive him for everything he's done!"

"Oh, Mala, you're totally gonna fall in love," Mavis teased.

"Wh-I am not! Why would you say such a thing?"

"Oh you're gonna sooooo fall in love! Haven't you ever seen in all those movies when the girl says she hates a guy, she totally ends up falling in love with him later and the totally hook up?"

"Well, Mavis, this isn't the movies. This is real life! He betrayed me and broke my heart and I don't think I can ever trust him again!"

"Keyword: 'think'," Tim pointed out.

"Sh-shut up!"

"You're right, Mala. You're not gonna fall in love with Drago, because you're still in love with him!"

"What? Psh, you're crazy, Mavis! No wonder the other kids call you 'Crazy Mavy'." Mala protested.

"You can't pull the wool over my eyes, Mala. I've seen enough rom-coms to know when a girl in love is in denial. And you, my dear, are in deep denial, super deep."

A bright flash suddenly came from within Tim's messenger bag as he scrambled to hide the glow while fishing out the cause without drawing too much attention. "Tim, what is that?" Liam asked.

"Oh, well I did some more research after Kuang lent us his workshop and made some alterations to that tracking spell. This is my grandfather's old compass that he gave to me when I was a kid," he explained, pulling out an old compass. There was a bright green glow surrounding it, which slowly died down.

"You modified the tracking spell?" Mala asked. "I'm impressed, Tim! You'll be a full fledged Chi Wizard in no time!"

"As I was saying, I modified the tracking spell and placed it on my grandfather's compass. Now, instead of redoing the tracking spell each time we want to find the next Coin, the spell informs me when one appears. And then, the compass will lead us straight to it. If it's activating now, there must be a Coin nearby."

"Best not to do this out in the open. Come on," said Liam, as the group moved away from their table to an empty space behind the cafe. Drago noticed them leaving, and quickly abandoned the group of girls that invaded his table to follow.

"What's going on?" he asked, noticing that Mala rolled her eyes just as he joined them.

"We've got a Coin here at the zoo," explained Mavis.

"Hang on, not just one… two!" Tim exclaimed.

"Two? No freakin' way!" Mavis cried.

"Yes, yes freakin' way," Tim affirmed. "It looks like the compass is showing them at opposite sides of the park. We'll have to split up again."

Liam noticed the disgruntled expression on Mala's face and quickly spoke up. "Uh, why don't you and I hit up one end, Drago?"

"Oh, uh sure," he said.

"Great! Mavis and Tim are with me then," Mala said, as she dragged Mavis and Tim off in the direction of one of the Coins.

"Don't take it personally, hot shot," Liam said.  
>"Exactly how else am I supposed to take it?" Drago asked. The boys made their way to the other direction Tim had specified when they noticed an announcement ring throughout the zoo, noting an emergency that required all guests to immediately vacate the premises.<p>

"Well, my money's on Daolon Wong showing up," said Liam.

"At least we won't have to worry about witnesses," said Drago. The duo ducked behind a corner and shifted into their demon forms. "So, you're a demon too? I didn't think there were any other demons still in this world."

"Yeah, son of Tzan Ren and Hsian Ji," Linos replied.

"So you're not half like me and Mala?"

"No, but I wasn't like the Demon Sorcerers and let's just say that that didn't float well with my father."

"Heh, I know the feeling. But most demons left on Earth are half-human. How'd you wind up here?" Drago asked.

"Well, my father and I had a disagreement. He said that if I liked watching the humans so much, I might as well live among them. It wasn't so much of me coming here as him throwing me out in banishment."

"Oh, so you didn't change yourself to get your father's approval?"

"Why would I do that? I'm me, not my father and I'd never try to be him. Besides, my father tried to kill me on more than one occasion. Why would I want his approval?" Linos explained as Drago remained silent.

"So how are we supposed to find this Coin?" Drago asked, looking around the surrounding trees and bushes for anything shiny.

"You're not." From the canopy above dropped the hunter, who landed before them. "You caught me off guard last time, fire demon, but that won't happen again!" The hunter glared, drawing a collapsible katana.

"You picked the wrong demons to mess with!" Drago growled.

* * *

><p>"Man, people really clear out fast!" Mavis exclaimed. "Hm, what to call this one… how about Operation: Animal House? You know, cuz we in a zoo? And there's animals? Huh?"<p>

"We get it, Mavis. Let's get to finding that Coin before Daolon… Wong… shows up," Tim slowly muttered, noticing the Dark Chi Wizard appear before them.

"Tim!" Mavis scolded.

"I know, I know! I'm sorry!"

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised anymore to find you everywhere I go. You children should just give up! The Coins are as good as mine!" Wong declared, clenching his fist tightly.

"You only got one Coin, Daolon Wrong!" Mavis shouted.

"My name is Daolon Wong!"

"Sorry, what was that?" Mavis asked, turning her ear towards him and cupping it with her hand.

"Daolon Wong!"

"Daolon Wrong?"

"Wong!"

"Wrong?"

"Argh, insufferable child!" he cursed, firing a dark energy blast at them.

The three of them managed to dive out of the way. "I'll handle Wong. You two look for that Coin!"

"Roger that! Let's bounce, Tim!" Mavis cried, grabbing the collar of Tim's blazer.

"I suppose I should be thanking that demon hunter. His interference has turned out to be beneficial to me. Even as I speak, he's engaging your other two demon friends on the other side of the park," Wong said.

"Only one of them is my friend!" Mala spat.

"Ok, it should be around here…" Tim said, as he and Mavis approached and large and elaborate fountain.

"Oh come on!" Mavis exclaimed. "Can't that compass narrow it down any further?"

"Unfortunately no. This is as close the compass'll get us. Well, go on," Tim ushered.

"Come again for Callahan? Why do I have to go into the freezing cold water?"

"Because I'm the behind-the-scenes guy who led us to the Coin in the first place! That's why!" But when Mavis wouldn't budge, Tim added, "There's a plate of my mom's apple pie in it for you."

"You've got yourself a deal!" Mavis eagerly chirped. She took off her boots and socks and rolled up her pants to her knees before slowly stepping into the fountain. "Cold, cold, cold, cold," she repeated in a weak and shivering mutter. She bent down and dipped her hands into the freezing water, searching for a silver coin with an animal insignia. "I can't feel my toes!"

"Let the thought of apple pie guide you!"

"Mmmmmm, apple pie," Mavis hummed, licking her lips as her mouth instantly watered. "Oh, oh I think I found it! Weird shape for a coin and looks like a bear," she said, stepping out of the fountain and handing the wet metal to Tim.

"Yeah, you don't see many square shaped coins nowadays. Let's get back to Mala and see if we can regroup with Linos and Drago to find the other one." They made their way back to Mala, only to see her ducking behind a crystal wall that was barely managing to shield her from Daolon Wong's spells. "Mala!" Tim shouted, tossing her the Coin.

Mala looked up when she heard Tim call her name. He caught the incoming Coin in the palm of her hand in time. She glanced at the back of the Coin, reading the inscription before smiling. She dissolved the crystal wall she hid behind and addressed Wong. "Hey, look what I've got!"

"The Bear Coin!" Wong gasped.

"Come and get it!" Mala taunted. Daolon Wong narrowed his eyes and rushed towards her, firing dark energy spells at her as he went, all of which she blocked with her raised arms. Just as Daolon Wong got close enough, Mala took a step back and brought her fist right into Wong's gut. The hit was so strong that it sent him flying all the way to the other side of the zoo grounds.

"Whoa! Hold the freakin' phone! Since when were you that strong?" Mavis cried.

"Since you handed me this," Mala said, tossing the square coin to Mavis. "Strength of the bear."

"Ah yeah! Super strength!" Mavis beamed, excitedly grasping the Coin.

"Well, the fight's not over yet. According to what Daolon Wong said, that hunter is here and fighting Drago and Linos. We should get to them right away," Tim said.

* * *

><p>Daolon Wong landed in a large pond with a great splash of water. When he resurfaced, he took a deep breath of air and while coughing the water out of his lungs. A few feet away on land, he noticed the two demons battling the demon hunter and grinned. "Well, at least I won't have to deal with those annoying children." Wong looked down at his staff as he noticed it beginning to glow. "The other Coin? It's here somewhere!" He dug into his robes and pulled out the eight-sided Shark Coin he managed to take. "Looks like you might be of some use to me after all." Wong squeezed the Coin tightly in his hand, activating its power. Gills suddenly sprouted on his neck as did webbing between his fingers. Wong dove into the water and held out his staff, letting the glow it emitted guide him to the Coin. The glow gradually became larger and brighter and Wong noticed something shining at the bottom of the pond. He picked up the tiny object and examined the coin in his hands. It was a smooth, round coin with a turquoise chameleon. "Excellent," he muttered with a wide grin.<p>

When he exited the pond and dried himself off with a spell, he took a closer look at the back of the Chameleon Coin. "Skin of the chameleon," he read aloud, "let's see what that means." He removed the Shark Coin from his hand, causing his gills and webbed hands to disappear, and replaced it with the Chameleon Coin. When he felt its power activate, he looked down at his hands and noticed he was nearly invisible. "Heh, camouflage. It's not perfect invisibility like the Snake Talisman, but it will do," he commented. When he noticed Mala and the two humans in the distance getting closer, Wong slipped away.

"What happened?" Tim asked as they met up with Linos and Drago.

"The demon hunter showed up. We managed to fight him off though; he probably bailed when things got too hot for him," said Drago.

"Have you found the Coin yet?" Mala asked.

"We were too busy fighting the hunter!" Linos added.

"Uh oh…" Tim muttered.

"Excuse me, 'uh oh'? That's not good. People only ever say 'uh oh' when something bad's happened!" Mavis exclaimed.

"Yeah, the second Coin is gone. My compass isn't picking it up!"

"Wong must have gotten it while you were fighting the hunter! You should have paid attention!" Mala scolded, particularly focusing on Drago as she spoke.

"Now hang on, Mala, you can't blame only Drago for that. I was just as focused on fighting that hunter. It's not like he was going to let us take a time out to look for the Coin," Linos said, defending Drago. Knowing Linos was right, Mala gritted her teeth and simply remained silent while Drago did the same, not wanting to have Mala hate him more than she already did by arguing with her.

"Great, so we lost one Coin. At least we managed to get the other one!" Mavis beamed, changing the subject in hopes of lightening the mood.

"So which is this one?" Linos asked as Mavis handed him the Coin for him and Drago to see.

"Super strength," Mavis replied. "Hey, everyone lighten up, ok? All this negative stuff is really bumming me out and when Callahan ain't happy, no one is happy."

"Truer words have never been spoken," Tim silently muttered.

"Come on, look at the big picture! We're 6-2 out of thirteen! We're still in the lead by a huge margin!"

"She's right. Let's just hope that Daolon Wong doesn't keep getting lucky and that the Coins he does have don't do him much good," said Linos.

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><p><strong>Next chapter: The group enters the sewers - which may or may not be infested with sewer gators - to find the next Coin. However, there is something lurking in the sewers that the teens will have trouble facing.<strong>


	11. Sewer Gators

**Man! It is good to finally be back! I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I updated! I also realize that updating on April 1st might make others think that it's a joke, but in all honesty, I don't really do anything for April Fool's Day. Most of the time, I even forget that it's April Fool's Day XD But in all seriousness, this is not a joke, this is a real update ^_^**

** I'm finally past the majority of my term papers and hit that sweet spot of a week where I have nothing due! Ah, sweet freedom. Plus, I'll confess that I got sidetracked with my recent obsession with Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja; I reeaaaaally got into that show XD It's funny, got neat animation, great voice acting, sweet lore and fuckin' ninjas. I'm sure most of you who already follow me know that I've already made a character and with the way things are going, a short story may follow. Only short though, gotta have my priorities :D**

**Anyway, usual disclaimer: I don't own Jackie Chan Adventures. This story, plot and characters belong to Zephyros-Phoenix and Dingo-Sniper. Any elements originally from JCA are property of the show's creators. **

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><p>"No way, nu-uh, no freakin' way!" Mavis protested loudly.<p>

"We don't have a choice, Mavis. The compass is telling us that the Coin is down there," Tim said, pointing to the manhole that led to the sewers.

"No way, man! I am not going into the sewers. Not only is it smelly down there, but there's sewer gators!"

"Sewer gators?" Liam asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"Sewer gators!" Mavis affirmed.

"Ok, you do know that's just an urban myth right? There's no such thing as sewer gators!" Mala argued.

"Says the demon," Mavis said.

"Oh, she's got you there," said Liam.

"Looks Mavis, demons are real, magic is real, but there is no such thing as a sewer gator!" Tim insisted.

"Fine!" Mavis pouted. "Let's just get Operation: Stupid Stinky Trip to the Sewers over with! Hot shot, the manhole cover, if you please."

Drago bent down as his partially transformed his hand into his demon form. He dug his claws into the manhole cover and easily pulled it off the manhole. One by one, they climbed down the ladder in the manhole into the sewers.

"Son of a bee sting! It stinks down here!" Mavis wailed, immediately pinching her nose and covering her mouth as the last of their group jumped off the ladder. "It smells like something died down here!" Mavis coughed, nearly throwing up in the process.

"It smells like a lot of things died down here," Mala added.

"Probably killed by sewer gators!" Mavis declared.

"No!" Tim interrupted her. "Ok, the compass says it's this way," Tim said, leading the group along the walkway. "Ah! Rats!" he squealed, as a pack of rats scampered across his path.

"Whoa, careful," Drago said, pulling Mala back from the rats slightly.

"I'm not afraid of rats, Drago," Mala retorted as she pulled herself from Drago's grip, only to squeal in fright at the sight of a large spider and jump behind him. After the spider crawled away, Mala looked up and saw everyone staring at her, while Mavis simply had a large grin across her face. She looked back at Drago and realized she was clutching his arm tightly. She felt blood rush to her cheeks and quickly let go of his arms. "Sh-shut up!" she flustered, quickly walking ahead of the group.

"Yeah, still totally in love with him," Mavis whispered with a grin.

"How much further, Tim?" Liam asked.

"We should be coming up to it soon," he replied. Suddenly, they heard a sinister cackle echo through the tunnels of the sewers and they saw the shadow of a familiar figure quickly move down the tunnel. "Wong's already here!" Tim shouted, pointing down the tunnel.

"No, he's over there!" Mala shouted, pointing down a tunnel to their right as she saw a figure run by.

"Split up!" Liam shouted, changing into his demon form as he flew down the large tunnel they were standing in as Tim and Mavis followed on foot.

"I guess that just leaves you and," Drago started, but Mala had already jumped into the tunnel and ignored him speaking, "me…" he muttered, following after her. Mala followed the sound of the cackling Dark Chi Wizard, leaving Drago far behind her as she glided down the sewer tunnels. When she came to a dead end in a larger, open area, she cursed, "Dead end." Just as she turned around to reenter the tunnel, crystals suddenly formed in front of her and covered the tunnel entrance. "What the?" The crystals spread across the walls and ceiling as they nearly completely covered the entire room.

"Surprise." Mala turned when she heard a sinister voice chime behind her.

"No… it can't be," Mala whispered breathlessly.

"Oh, but it is. You didn't think I'd stay banished forever, did you?" Mala froze in place as her mother appeared before her with a malicious grin. Lang Yan waved her hands as the two crystal wheels over her back flew straight towards Mala. She managed to dive to the side and avoid the wheels as Pearl jumped, changing form in mid-air, to strike the Demon Sorceress. Lang Yan simply held up her hand, stopping Pearl before the rabbit could make contact. "You always did want a pet rabbit when you were little. It's not bad though, your construct. Makes me a bit jealous that I don't get one." Lang Yan roughly pushed Pearl against the wall as crystals bindings formed over Pearl's body, restraining her.

"But h-how are you here? Drago said that you-"

"Drago? Didn't I tell you that Drago couldn't be trusted? And I was right, wasn't I? You've had your fun, daughter, but now its time for me to take my rightful place as queen of this world!" She dashed forward to Mala to attack her with her talons. Though Mala managed to block her attacks with her own claws, she couldn't block the swift punch Lang Yan delivered to her stomach. Mala keeled over as she felt the air being knocked out of her lungs and she struggled to regain her breath.

Lang Yan reached forward and roughly wrapped her large hand around Mala's neck, squeezing tightly as she raised Mala off the ground. "Nothing personal, darling. It's just business; I can't have you getting in my way," she grinned as Mala tried desperately to pry Lang Yan's hand off her throat as she gasped for air. She could faintly make out the sound of crystals crackling as they formed. With the last of her strength, she looked down and saw her body being crystallized. Bit by bit, she could feel her body less and less as her heart raced in panic.

_'Mala!'_ Mala suddenly heard a voice speak in her head as she glanced around for the source of the voice. _'This is not real!'_

When she realized who's voice it was calling to her, she thought, _'…Mom?'_

_ 'Yes. That which you see before you is nothing but an illusion formed by the magic you seek.'_

_ 'The Coin? But I don't understand, how are you-'_

_ 'That is unimportant,'_ her mother's thoughts cut her off, _'You must see through this illusion! Your friends need you.'_

With all her strength and new resolve, Mala freed herself from her mother's grip as her body uncrystallized. The supposed illusion of her mother roared in anger and charged towards her. As Mala watched Lang Yan advance, she quickly focused her gaze on her mother, looking for her aura, but found nothing. _'No aura… this isn't real!'_ she realized. Out of instinct, she dodged her mother's attacks and jumped across to the other side of the area. _'Ok, what did dad say about dispelling illusions? "So long as you don't perceive the illusion as real, it cannot hurt you."'_ She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, repeating a determined thought in her head that this was not her mother and none of it was real. The raging battle cry suddenly silenced and all she could hear was the sound of water droplets and moving water. She opened her eyes and looked around seeing no sign of her mother and all the crystals she saw being formed were gone.

"Pearl," she smiled in relief as the little rabbit hopped over to her. "So the Coin's power must be illusion. So if what I saw here wasn't really my mother, was the voice I heard actually her?" she asked herself. She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the distant roaring of fireballs as a faint glow flickered on the walls of the tunnel. "Oh, this can't be good." With Pearl right behind her, Mala made her way back down the tunnel. When she finally found Drago, he was throwing fireballs straight at the wall in front of him.

"You're wrong! I'm nothing like you, not anymore!" Drago shouted.

Mala looked at him in confusion for a moment before realizing, "Another illusion." Something about what Drago had said reminded her of something. It was like when her mother appeared to her in her dream earlier this year. She remembered yelling to the apparition that they weren't alike. Was Drago yelling at an illusion of his father? Could he have really changed? As Drago let out a stream of fire from his mouth at the wall, Mala ran up to him from behind and grabbed his shoulder.

"Drago, none of this is real! You have to-" Drago suddenly turned around and roughly pushed her back before she could finish her sentence.

"I don't care if you have your Talismans, I can still beat you!" he shouted, narrowing his eyes are her.

_'Uh oh, he thinks I'm Shen Du!'_ she thought. She raised a crystal barrier to shield herself as Drago readied more fireballs. She heard the crackling of electricity as the saw the blue lightning building up around her crystals. She had almost forgotten what happens when their two elements came together. She waved her hand as a row of small crystal shards appeared between her and Drago. The electricity jumped from shard to shard before immediately striking Drago in the chest. The force of the impact threw him right into the brick wall of the sewer before he roughly fell to the ground unconscious.

"You don't think I overdid it, do you?" she asked Pearl, who merely blinked in response. She ran over to Drago and bent down beside him as she turned him onto his back. "Drago? Drago, wake up," she called, gently placing her hand on the side of his face.

Drago could hear someone in the distance calling his name. What happened? He could have sworn he was battling his father. But that wasn't possible. Shen Du was in the Netherworld; he couldn't possibly have made it back to the human world. And everything his father was saying to him… it was like he was a little kid again. But Drago refused to give in; he wouldn't let that monster of a father control him or change him again. Drago knew who he was and what he wanted now more than ever. He groaned when he felt a sharp pain in his chest and fought to open his eyes. He blinked his eyes a few times to focus his eyes as the blurred images around him slowly became sharpened and clear. He could make out the pale blue skin and bright red eyes that cut right through pale, white bangs. He reached his large hand up to her face and cupped her cheek. He tried to lift himself up halfway as he pulled her face closer to his, but to his dismay, she pulled away and stepped back from him. When he no longer felt her presence around him, he rubbed his head and pushed himself up in a sitting position. His eyesight finally cleared and looked up at Mala in confusion while she diverted her gaze away from his.

"Um, what happened?" he asked.

"The Coin's power lets it create illusions. You were just caught in one," she explained.

"So, then my old man wasn't actually here?"

"No."

"Good," he sighed in relief before pushing himself off the ground. "Still it… it all felt so real, like he really was here."

"That's the point of an illusion, Drago: to make you think something is real when it's really not."

"Then is this right here an illusion?" he asked, moving his hand back and forth gesturing to the two of them.

"What are you talking about, Drago?"

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about, Mala. I've been here for weeks now and you've been avoiding me like the plague! Look," he sighed, "I'm not going to pretend to know how you're feeling about this, but I am back and I am not going anywhere."

"Nothing is going to change between us, Drago," she said.

"And why not? I've tried to apologize but you never give me the chance. And when I do get the chance, you blow me off! How many times do I have to apologize?"

Mala could sense the anger growing in Drago's tone of voice. She could see in his eyes that he had been trying to hold in his anger and frustration and right about now, that fuse was incredibly short. But she wouldn't back down. She had been on the wrong side of his anger before, but she wasn't the same person the last time they saw each other. "It's not about apologizing, Drago! It doesn't matter how many times you apologize because it's not going to make a difference!"

"Then tell me what to do! Do you want me to tell you how wrong I was? That you were right about everything and that I was a stupid idiot? What do I have to do to get you to forgive me?" he pleaded.

"Nothing! There is nothing you can do Drago! Just… just go and live your life away from me and I'll live mine!"

"I can't do that, Mala. I can't not have you in my life," he explained, struggling to find the words. Expressing his feelings wasn't something Drago was used to doing. "I can't bear the thought of being apart from you, Mala. You're the only thing in my life worth living for," he said sincerely. For a second, Mala almost thought that he genuinely meant what he said. But Drago's words had fooled her once before and she wasn't going to fall for it again. "Mala," he whispered, "I still love you."

"What?" she breathed as her eyes flew wide open and her jaw dropped. When she started feeling the dryness of her mouth sink in, she closed her mouth and recomposed herself.

"I still love you," he repeated, determined as he stepped forward until he was right in front of her.

"You never even told me you love me before. I was the one who told you that I love you and I was the one who got hurt. You just had something that you wanted more than you wanted me," she muttered sadly.

"But I don't want that anymore. As soon as I fell into the Netherworld, I knew in my gut that I should have listened to you, that I should have just told you how I felt and run away together! I lost and everything I ever wanted was gone, out of my reach! But all I could think about was you: what you were doing while I was stuck in that hellhole, what you must have thought of me and if you were thinking of me as much as I was thinking of you."

"I…" Mala started, unable to form the words as Drago stared at her with hopeful eyes. Before she could utter her next word, they heard a loud shriek echo through the sewers. "The others are in trouble!" Mala took off down the sewer tunnel, leaving Drago behind her. Drago sighed, slouching his shoulders and closing his eyes before following after her.

* * *

><p>"Man, that's a set of pipes you've got on you," Mavis laughed.<p>

"Mavis! That wasn't funny!" Tim shouted.

"What are you guys doing?" Linos asked, turning back to face the two.

"Callahan here thought it would be funny to tickle the back of my neck! I thought there was a spider on me!" Tim explained.

"And it was hilarious! He screamed like a girl!"

"Guys, focus, we need to-" Linos suddenly stopped and froze in place, staring at something in front of him.

"Hey ho, why've we stopped?" Mavis asked.

"No, no, no, no, no," Linos repeated, taking a slight step back, "It's not possible," he whispered.

"What are you looking at-EEP!" Mavis squeaked as she ducked behind Linos' large wing. "I-isn't that?"

"But that's not possible, right? W-we sent him back to the Netherworld, didn't we?" Tim stuttered, hiding behind Linos' other wing.

"Hello son, long time no see."

"Tzan Ren," Linos whispered breathlessly as his eyes widened in fear. He could hardly believe that his father stood here before them. "Run… RUN!" he shouted, prompting Tim and Mavis to run back the way they came.

"Wait, wait, we can't just leave Linos behind!" Tim declared, pulling Mavis' arm to stop her.

"Tim, Tim, Tim, do you not remember what happened the last time we dealt with him?" she wailed hysterically. "Tim, I can't go through all that again!" Mavis breathed heavily before her pace suddenly quickened and she began hyperventilating.

"Wow, Mavis… did you ever talk to anyone about what happened?" Tim asked.

"Oh, oh, and who could I possibly talk to about nearly being killed by a demon? I can't even tell my parents about it! They'd think I'm crazy!"

"More so than usual?" he asked.

"I'm not kidding around, Tim!" Mavis shouted, gripping the collar of his shirt as she vigorously shook him back and forth.

"Shit, you're not kidding around," Tim realized.

"No kidding, Knight! How is he even back here?"

"I-I don't know, Mavis, but Linos needs our help!"

"I don't think I can do this!" she wailed in despair.

"Really? This is where you draw the line?"

"Mavis, Tim!" The two looked to their left to see Mala and Drago running up to them. "Are you guys ok?"

"Are we ok? Are we ok?!" Mavis repeated.

"That's what she asked," said Drago.

"Mavis, what's wrong?" Mala asked tenderly.

"We've got a tiny bit of a problem. Tzan Ren's here!" Tim answered.

"Linos' dad?" Drago asked.

"Yeah, we don't know how he got here, but Linos is fighting him and Mavis is freaking out!"

"I've never seen her like this," Mala said, noticing Mavis hyperventilating again.

"Yeah, the last time she was in the same room as Tzan Ren wasn't exactly good…"

"Ok, listen. I'm sure it looks like Tzan Ren, but that's not him," Mala said.

"What'chu talkin' 'bout Reid?" Mavis interjected.

"It's just an illusion. Drago and I both saw our demon parents, but it was just an illusion," she explained.

"Wait, wait, wait, so the Tzan Ren we saw isn't real?" Tim asked.

"That's right."

"And how could you tell?" Mavis asked.

"No aura," Mala answered.

"So, then Tzan Ren's not really here? He's still trapped in the Netherworld?" Mavis asked as Mala nodded. "Oh, well then, crisis over," she sighed.

"What? Just like that?" Tim cried in amazement.

"Tim, my boy, you continue to underestimate my, uh… uh…" Mavis trailed.

"Your obvious mastery of keeping your cool?" Tim suggested sarcastically.

"Yes! Yes, Callahans don't lose their cool!" Mavis confidently proclaimed. "So since big bad demon back there isn't real, how do we stop it?"

"So long as we don't perceive the illusion as real, it will stop," said Mala.

* * *

><p>"Now is that any way to greet your father?" Tzan Ren smirked as he narrowed his eyes in a vicious glare.<p>

"You're no father of mine!" Linos declared loudly, forming two shadow blades in his hands. Their blades clashed as Linos held up his two swords to block Tzan Ren's larger weapon. Linos managed to push his father off of him and let out a sonic shriek from his mouth. The shriek echoed off the walls of the sewers down the tunnel, but Tzan Ren seemed unaffected by it. "What the?"

"Ha, just like your mother; you've got quite the mouth there, son!"

"Shut up!" Linos waved his arms as shadow tendrils shot out from behind him towards his father. However, Tzan Ren waved his arms in a similar fashion, summoning his own tendrils that locked tightly with Linos' in a stalemate.

"Linos!" Linos turned around when he heard his name being called and saw his friends coming out of a tunnel behind him.

"What are you guys doing? Get out of here!" he urged them.

"Linos! That's not your father! It's just an illusion!" Mala shouted.

"Are you crazy?"

"So long as you don't perceive the illusion as real, it cannot hurt you!" she shouted again.

Linos turned back to his father, their shadow tendrils still locked in a stalemate. The chances of his father actually appearing here were next to impossible, but it just seemed so real. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before letting go of his tendrils and placing his faith in his friends. He concentrated hard on himself and focused entirely on one single thought, repeating it in his head. _'It's not real…'_ He waited a few seconds and when he felt no strike hit him, he slowly opened his eyes. He gasped lightly and glanced around the now empty sewer.

"See? Told ya," Mala said, as they walked up to Linos.

"But… it seemed so real, like he was really here…"

"Join the club," said Drago.

"So what about the Coin?" Mavis asked.

"I think that's what was causing the illusions," said Mala.

Tim reached into his bag and pulled out his compass, but there was no response from it at all. "Ugh, wherever the Coin is, it's not down here anymore. Daolon Wong must have gotten to it before us and used it's powers to distract us while he got away."

"Damn!" Linos cursed. With no other option, the group exited the sewers from the same manhole they came in from. "Guys, hold up," he started, "Drago, I know you're still new here, but you've really helped us out and I think it's about time you join the group, officially."

"What?" Mala shouted.

"Now, Mala, just hear me out: whatever happened between you two is in the past," he said.

"It happened within the last few months," Mala argued.

"Nevertheless, the past."

"I'm supposed to expect that he's had this sudden epiphany? That he's good now?"

"Look, Mala, I'm not going to pretend that I know what happened between you two but Drago's helped us when we needed him. Everyone deserves a second chance."

"And you two are on board with this?" Mala asked Tim and Mavis.

"Well, to be honest, Mala, we've tried to keep our distance from this whole thing. It just seemed far too personal," Tim explained.

"Yeah and frankly, he hasn't done anything to piss us off, at least not yet. It's still a possibility, just puttin' that out there," Mavis added.

"Logically and rationally it makes sense. Wong's been getting more Coins lately and with that demon hunter, we could use some more firepower, literally. Mala, whatever he did to hurt and upset you, you have to get over it. It's not healthy for you or any of us."

"Fine," Mala growled, "but one slip up and he's out!"

"Those terms seem agreeable," said Mavis. "Hot shot?"

"You won't regret this, I swear," he said, giving Mala a sincere and honest look. However, Mala didn't buy his declaration and marched off.

As the others went their separate ways to retire for the night, Liam pulled Mavis back. "Mavis, hang on a second?"

"What's up?" she asked.

"Look, Tim told me about… about what happened down in the sewers when we saw Tzan Ren."

"Wh-wha? Psh, it was no big. Callahan's don't lose their cool," she beamed proudly.

"That's what I always liked about you Mavis, you're always so strong, but I think I know you well enough. You don't have to pretend with me, Mavis."

"I, uh, don't know what you're talking about," she muttered.

"I know that what happened with my father, messed you up a little, to put it lightly. I should have realized sooner that you'd needed someone to talk with about what happened. I guess I just assumed that you'd be fine, bounce back like you always do. It was wrong of me to assume that you'd just be fine after my father nearly killed you. Look, what I'm trying to say is that I should have been there for you when you needed someone to talk about what you've been through. I'd like to make up for it by being here for you now." Liam was cut short when Mavis ran up and hugged him tightly, nearly squeezing the air out of his lungs. "M-Mavis?"

"Thanks, Linos, for saving my life and always being there when I need you."

"Heh, no problem, Callahan," he said, returning the hug.

* * *

><p><strong>Mala isn't the only one who gets a little bit of romance :3 LinosxMavis is technically a secondary pairing, but they still deserve from time don't they? Plus, since Mavis is all gung-ho, D-Sniper and I thought it would be really interesting to explore a more serious side of Mavis. Basically, what happened is that Tzan Ren did show up in Linos' life and essentially tried to muck everything up. Mavis may be hardcore and strong, but she's not immune to everything.<strong>

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'd love it if you leave a comment or review and if you do, it would be great if you said more than just "cool" or stuff like that X3**

**Next chapter: Mala and Mavis step up when a coin collector will only give them his Coin on one condition. Meanwhile, Drago gets to know Linos, the only one to vouch for him.**


	12. The Easiest Mission in the World

**I swear I was just on a bit of a roadblock for the last bit of this chapter. However, after this, we shall be getting into the reaaaaallly good parts. But yeah, I had been pretty busy not only with finals and papers, but also finishing up my Pyrrha Nikos cosplay for FanExpo this weekend :D**

**Jackie Chan Adventures was created by John Rogers. Any original characters and story elements belong to Zephyros-Phoenix and Dingo-Sniper.**

* * *

><p>Liam, Mavis, Tim, Mala and Drago all sat outside on the bleachers at the group's usual meeting place during lunch. Despite being welcomed into the group - albeit not by all - Drago still felt fairly nervous and uncomfortable. His continued attempts to make peace with Mala were still getting him nowhere and every time he tried to sit near her as they ate lunch, she'd scoot down the bleachers to move away from him.<p>

"Ok, can someone just start talking about something? This awkward silence is getting annoying!" Mavis shouted.

"Well, we could talk about what we're going to do for the next Coin. But there's no real way of knowing when or where it'll show up," Tim started.

"Hey, what's the cheerleading squad doing out here? I thought they only practice after school," said Liam, pointing to the group of girls that gathered behind the side of the bleachers. One of the railings was still dented from when Pearl punched Linos.

"Oh, yeah I'm pretty sure they're here for Hot shot," Mavis said, digging into her fries.

"What?" Drago asked, cocking his eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed practically all the girls in class just swooning over you. I mean, you've gotta admit, you're one hot piece of ass D-man," Mavis said.

"Hang on, I'm sorry… 'hot piece of ass'?" Liam asked, nearly choking on his sandwich.

"Easy there, tiger," Mavis said, picking up on the jealousy in his voice, "I'm just stating an obvious fact," she added, gesturing to the group of girls gathered. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"Well, I-" he started, nervously looking over to Mala.

"Right, forget I asked. We all know there's only one girl you ever notice. Anyway, what are we doing tonight?" Mavis asked.

"Well, it's new comic book day at the comic book store," Tim suggested.

"Oh no Tim, not the comic book store," Mavis groaned.

"What's wrong with the comic book store? I thought you liked it there," said Liam, "Comics were one of the first things Tim showed me when I got here and I loved 'em."

"The stuff at the comic book store is great; the problem is the people there."

"Why?" Mala asked.

"It's practically filled with guys who've never been near a girl. I swear, the last time I was there when I walked in, they all stopped and just starred at me until I left."

"Oh come on, Mavis, it's not that bad! Plus I saw on the store's website that they just got a couple of Batman cookie jars," Tim said with a smirk.

Mavis narrowed her eyes are him before pointing at him with one of her fries, "You win this round, Knight." After school, they made their way to the comic book store, but before they entered, Mavis said, "Now Mala, don't be surprised if the guys in there start staring at you. It's really only when they start gathering around you when it becomes a problem."

"Um, ok…" Mala said unsure. As soon as they pushed open the door, all heads turned to them, specifically Mavis and Mala. "What's happening?" Mala whispered.

"Don't make eye contact!" Mavis whispered back sharply as she ushered Mala past the other customers to the back of the store. As the boys followed, Drago gave a sharp and menacing glare at the boys staring at Mala and Mavis. He growled lightly, causing the watchful customers to quickly return their attention to what they were previously doing. They spent a couple minutes browsing the comics and other memorabilia before Tim's compass began glowing from inside his bag. "Oh thank god!" Mavis sighed heavily in relief. "Come on, Tim give us something good!"

Tim reached into his bag and pulled out the glowing compass. The group gathered near the back corner so as not to draw attention. "There's a Coin nearby," Tim said.

"All right, Timmy, work that magic of yours!" Mavis grinned.

"We should probably move outside for this," said Mala.

Just as they reached the store's entrance, Liam stopped. "Hey guys, hold up," he said, as the others stopped. "How much wanna bet it's in there?" he asked, pointing to a wooden case with a glass window filled with coins.

"Pretty sweet, isn't it?" One of the customers in the store walked up to them. He had dusty blonde hair, freckles and thick rimmed glasses. "I'm Barry Lewis. I couldn't help but notice you were admiring my coin collection. I started it when I was five!" he beamed proudly.

"Uh yeah… we were just wondering where you got - do you mind?" Liam asked, moving to grab the case.

"Just be careful," Barry requested.

"Like I said, we were just wondering where you got…" Liam voice trailed off as he quickly scanned the coins in the case for one with an animal sigil. He spotted a round coin with a square cut out in the middle and what looked like a tortoise in green. "…this one!" Liam handed the case back to Barry and pointed to the Tortoise Coin.

"Oh that one! I won that in an online bidding war a couple years back!"

"What do you want for it?" Tim asked.

"Oh, you're interested in a trade? Well, let me see what coins you have."

"Uh… we don't have a coin collection; we have lives," Mavis muttered that last part quietly so no one could hear her.

"Well, that's too bad. I'm sorry, but if guys don't have any coins to offer me in return, then we don't have a deal," Barry said as he turned to walk away.

"Wait, wait, wait, ok we don't have any coins to trade you, but is there something else you'd take in return? It's really important we get that coin," Liam explained.

"Weeeeellll," Barry started, looking at Mavis and Mala.

"Oh no, I do not like the way he's looking at us," Mala groaned.

* * *

><p>"I cannot believe we agreed to do this," Mala muttered.<p>

"Hey, I don't like it any more than you do, but we need that Coin! And unless we want to steal it from him, this is the next best option!" Mavis said.

"Ok, can I just point out that on two occasions we robbed a museum, but this is apparently where we draw the line? I suppose it does beat fighting Wong and that demon hunter."

"Right, so let's just do what this guy wants and we can beat the shit out of my old Xbox. Sound good?"

"Haha, deal. So, Barry told us to meet him here," she said as they stopped outside the comic book store.

"Good evening ladies," Barry chimed in. "You're both looking lovely today."

"Wait, where's the other guy? I thought this was supposed to be a double date," said Mavis.

"Oh it is. But when I said 'double date', I meant that there would be double the girls on the date," Barry clarified.

"So, you're telling me that we're both your dates?" Mala asked.

"Keep your cool, we're doing it for the Coin!" Mavis whispered to her quickly.

"All right, let's just get this evening over with," Mala muttered.

As Barry led the girls to a nearby restaurant for dinner, Drago suddenly appeared from behind the corner and followed them at a safe distance. "Hey!" Drago cried out in surprise and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Linos! Don't do that!" he cursed.

"Haha, sorry about that. You know you can just call me Liam right? I answer to 'Liam' and 'Linos'," he said.

"Yeah, I know, but I prefer to call you by your real name. You've all still been calling me 'Drago' rather than 'Damon'."

"Hm, good point. But for the sake of our cover, let's stick to aliases when we're around other people outside the group," Liam suggested as Drago nodded in agreement. "So, what are you doing?"

"Uh, I was just making sure this Barry guy isn't gonna back out of the deal or, uh…" Drago trailed off.

"Do something to the girls?" Liam added.

"Yeah! Yeah, that," Drago said nervously.

"Hey man, relax, that's why I'm out here too. You gotta admit, it's a bit creepy for a guy to ask for a date with two girls like that. And I'm only just realizing that what we're doing might be considered equally, if not more, creepy," Liam sighed.

"I just wanted to make sure Mala would be ok, that's all," Drago said, "I, uh, care about her."

"Come on Hot shot, we all know exactly how much you 'care' about Mala," Liam said with air quotes.

"Seriously, what's with the 'Hot shot'?" he asked.

"What, you don't like it? Mavis was the one who came up with it."

"Well, I didn't at first, but it's sorta grown on me. I didn't say anything at first because, well I didn't want to make Mala any more mad with me and I figured being mean to her friends wouldn't help my case."

"Good call. But yeah, that's always how it's been with Mavis' nicknames. At first you don't like them and you ask her to stop, but she just ignores you and keeps calling you that and eventually you start liking it."

"What was her nickname for you?" Drago asked, curious.

"Uh… it was Batboy," he answered.

"Heh, that's not bad. To be honest, at first I wasn't too keen on befriending Tim or Mavis, but I was willing to give them a chance since they were Mala's friends."

"You don't hang around humans much, don't you?"

"I didn't exactly have a good relationship with humans… or demons for that matter. The only person I could really depend on was myself, and, well, Mala. And I ended up burning that bridge," he lamented.

"Just give her time. I'm sure she'll come around," Liam assured him.

"I hope you're right. But Tim and Mavis definitely weren't what I was expecting. They're actually pretty cool for-"

"For humans?"

"Yeah… well when you put it that way, it makes me sound like a douche."

"Lil' bit. But you're making progress. Not all humans are the same, just like not all demons are the same. I mean, look at me. Unlike you and Mala, I'm a full demon, but I'm nothing like the Demon Sorcerers. For one thing, I love humans."

"Hm, you have a point. Just another part of my father in me that I'd be happy to see gone. I didn't always hate humans, but I guess spending all that time with my old man…"

"I understand, man. When you're raised by a human hating father, it's almost impossible not to start emulating him."

"I am not my father!" Drago growled.

"I didn't say you were. But you're obviously making an effort to change for the better and that already speaks volumes of how different you are from Shen Du."

"Thanks. You know, I've been meaning to ask this: Why did you speak up for me before? Honestly out of everyone here, you're the only one that's actually nice to me."

"Well, unlike Tim, Mavis and Mala, I know what its like to grow up with that kind of father."

"Right."

"My father came here and tracked me down specifically to kill me because he felt I was a 'stain on the family bloodline'," Liam explained.

"Whoa. Even my father's never tried to kill me, at least not directly."

"Look, Mala's my friend and I care about her, so don't make me regret vouching for you," he said with a serious look.

"I won't," Drago answered surely.

"It looks like they're heading into that sushi restaurant," Liam pointed out as the girls and Barry entered through the front door.

"Eyuck, I never liked sushi. Two things I hate: fish and raw meat."

"Really? That's kinda surprising coming from a dragon," Liam specified.

"I guess I just prefer a well done steak, maybe even medium rare, but not straight up raw."

"You know, they say sushi is an acquired taste; the more you have it, the more you start to like it. When Mavis first made me try sushi I thought it was disgusting. You know that little bit of green stuff they always give you with each plate of sushi?"

"Yeah, the wasabi," Drago answered.

"Well, I didn't exactly know that it had such a strong, spicy flavour and I sure as hell didn't know I was only supposed to take a little bit to add it to the soy sauce," Liam started.

"Oh no, don't tell me…"

"Yup, ate the whole damn thing. It was hours before I could finally taste anything again let alone feel my tongue. And Mavis didn't do anything to stop me either! She ended up laughing so hard that she literally fell out of her seat," Liam said with a light chuckle as he smiled, remembering the event fondly.

"She and Tim… they're pretty ok," Drago said quietly.

"For humans?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I guess when you've spent most of your life listening to an arrogant demon with a god complex raving on and on about how weak and worthless humans are, you start to believe it yourself," he lamented sadly.

"Well, you're part human and so is Mala. Humans aren't all bad and, well, neither are demons. It doesn't matter what you are or where you're from, just as long as you're true to yourself and your friends."

"Man, you really know what to say, don't you?" Drago chuckled.

"Lifetime of knowledge," Liam proclaimed, gesturing to himself with his thumbs. "Whoa, heads up," he said, noticing Daolon Wong descend from the sky and landing softly on the empty sidewalk. "I figured he'd show up, come on." The two ducked into a nearby alleyway and emerged in their demon forms.

Drago threw a fireball at Wong to get his attention. Hearing the roaring flames coming towards him, Wong turned around and blocked it with his staff. "I should have known you pesky children would show up. For some reason, I keep thinking to myself that today will be the one time you don't interfere with me," he scoffed.

"Didn't you get the memo, Wong? Bad guys never catch lucky breaks!" Linos declared.

"I certainly caught a 'lucky break' in the sewers. Did you like my little present?" he taunted.

"Making us see illusions of our demon parents? Low blow," Drago growled.

"Yes, quite an extraordinary power the Fox Coin has, hm?" he mused, holding up the Fox Coin in his wrinkled, bony hand. "But since I'm in a good mood tonight and there's only the two of you brats, I won't use it." Just as he finished his sentence, he fired a dark energy beam from his staff at the two boys. Linos shielded himself with his large wings and dug his claws into the pavement to keep the force of the blow from knocking him back while Drago jumped out of the way. He jumped over to Wong, fireballs ready in hand, but just before he could land his attack, Wong disappeared.

"What the? Where'd he go?" Drago shouted, quickly glancing around for a sign of the Dark Chi Wizard. "And to think I almost believed him when he said he wouldn't use the Fox Coin."

"I don't know. We've experienced the Fox Coin's power firsthand and this doesn't feel like it's power. He might be using one of the other Coins he's managed to get his hands on."

"Like the ones we lost to him at the aquarium and zoo?" Drago asked.

"Right, but we have no way of knowing which Coin they are or what exactly they do."

"Well based on what just happened, I'd guess either teleportation or invisibility."

"Hm, if it is invisibility, then we can't see him directly... but he'll still cast a shadow!" Linos realized. "Drago, light it up!"

"I'm on it!" Drago formed two fireballs in his hands and raised his arms up into the air as the two fireballs combined into one large, roaring flame orb over his head. The flickering light emanating from the fire quickly lit up the immediate area as Linos quickly scanned the area for a sign of a lone shadow. "There!" Drago called out, pointing with his finger.

Linos turned to where Drago directed him and saw a shadow with no originating figure. "Gotcha," he grinned. Linos waved his arms as shadow tendrils appeared from Wong's shadow and roughly knocked him towards the middle of the street as he suddenly became visible again.

"Clever," Wong spat before pushing himself off the ground. "But not clever enough!" Wong gripped the Fox Coin in his palm as his began glowing brightly. All of a sudden, copies of Wong appeared and surrounded them in a circle. "Ha! Now how will you know which is the real me?" Wong cackled.

Drago and Linos quickly exchanged looks before Drago asked, "That one in the middle, right?" while pointing to the Wong that was directly in front of them.

"Yeah," Linos affirmed as Drago threw a fireball right at the Wong that was directly across from them. The fireball hit dead center and knocked the real Wong back as the others copies disappeared.

"Wha? But how did you know?" Wong cried in shock.

"It's not like you moved from where you were standing," Linos answered.

"Shit! They're coming out!" Drago shouted, pointing to the sushi restaurant as the door swung open. Linos quickly raised his arms as shadows consumed them and they sunk into the ground.

"Come on, Mavis, did you honestly expect me to believe that the wasabi was green tea ice cream?" Mala asked. "Unlike Liam, I've actually had sushi many times before."

"Can't blame a girl for trying," Mavis shrugged. "So what's next, Barry?"

"This is the last thing, I swear. I just want to stop by the comic book store and show all my friends that I just went on a date with two girls!" he squealed in utter joy.

Once they disappeared down the street, Linos raised them out of the shadows and back onto the street. Drago took a deep, desperate breath of air as his shakily crawled out of the shadow while Daolon Wong simply rolled onto the ground, clutching his staff with wide eyes, quietly mumbling to himself. "Never... do that... again..." he inhaled heavily between his words before coughing lightly.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Not everyone's accustomed to being pulled into a shadow," Linos said, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"It felt like I couldn't breath in there!"

"Oh, you can breath just fine, but yeah it feels like there's no air and that can freak people out. The first time I did it to Tim, he nearly threw up! Mavis, oddly enough, didn't seem affected by it... at all really. Her reaction was actually just 'Let's do that again!'" Linos laughed.

"I wouldn't blame Tim for throwing up. But seriously, don't ever do that again," Drago said seriously. "So, uh, what do we do with him?" he asked, gesturing to the still shocked Wong.

"We could take him as our prisoner?" Linos suggested.

"Yeah and keep him where?" asked Drago.

"Good point and I doubt we'd have everything we'd need to construct some sort of Dark Chi Wizard prison. I guess we'll just leave him and catch up with the girls. He definitely won't be up for a while," Linos said with a laugh.

* * *

><p>"So, how'd it go?" Tim asked as Mala and Mavis entered Kuang's store.<p>

"Easiest mission ever!" Mavis loudly declared. She tossed the Coin to Tim, who caught it in his hands.

"Except when he had us go with him to the comic book store where all his friends who have never been within 5 feet of a girl kept staring at us! And he tried to get us to dress up in costumes with him!" Mala shouted.

"You didn't actually do that, did you?" Drago asked with a hint of jealousy in his tone.

"Of course not!"

"I did!" Mavis said proudly.

"Wait, what?" Liam asked.

"So what's this - hm, looks like a tortoise - Coin do?" Tim asked, examining the Coin.

"Shields," Mala answered.

"That could come in handy. So what exactly did he make you dress up as, just wondering?" Liam asked.

"Some comic book superheroes. Anyway, it's not important. What did you guys end up doing?" Mavis asked.

"Well, I hung out here to practice some spells. I'm not sure what Liam and Drago did. Where'd you guys go? You were gone for a few hours," said Tim.

"Oh, uh, Liam was just showing me around town! Yeah, that's what we were doing," Drago quickly answered.

"You know, I'm kinda surprised that Daolon Wong didn't show up. I was sure he was going to show up and I'd have to distract Barry while Mala went all demon on him. But no, nothing!" Mavis pondered. "You were probably hoping for him to show up to ruin/end the night early, weren't you?" Mavis gave Mala a playful nudge with her elbow.

"Maybe a little."

"Am I the only one who's concerned about what Mavis had to dress up as?" Liam shouted loudly.

* * *

><p><strong>You know, the fun thing about having a 4+ group like this is exploring different match ups and writing up how different characters interact with each other. Drago and Linos have been a matchup that I was really excited to write about because, well as you guys read (I hope), Linos is the one of the group to sympathize most with what Drago had to go through in his childhood. If's Drago's going to be fully accepted into the group, Linos will be the key to that.<strong>

**Next Chapter: It's the school ski trip that Mavis has been waiting for and the group learns that the next Coin is part of the trophy for a ski competition. Mala tries to reach out to Remington.**

**Until next time!**

**PS. Gonna totally meet Michael Rosenbaum this weekend and get him to sign a Drago poster I made :D**


	13. No Powers!

**Next chapter, yay! I should really be focused on studying for my last two finals this week but man, I am on such a buzz for this right now and it is absolutely because I met Michael Rosenbaum this weekend. For those who don't know, Michael Rosenbaum is the voice actor who played Drago. I brought a Drago poster that I made for him to sign and gave him a second copy to keep as a gift. He was amazed by the poster and told me that he had never been given anything of Drago to sign before. He tends to be more well-known for Smallville, Flash and Lollipop Chainsaw. He even held it up and showed it to some of the people in the lineup behind me and went "Do you even know who this is?" Then we talked a bit about Drago and he was really surprised that someone was still so into JCA and he seemed to really like my opinion of Drago (that he is a redeemable villain that is merely acting out). After that, I got a selfie with him and a quick video! He was a super cool guy and super funny.**

**Also, for those who are curious as to what human Drago looks like, there is a picture of my design of human Drago on my deviantart. Go find it yourselves. ;)**

**Anyway, I'll stop distracting you from the story now ^_^**

* * *

><p>"Guys, I have been waiting for this ski trip for years! And now, the moment is finally here! Our grade finally gets to go to Big Bear!" Mavis grinned widely. "This is gonna be the best weekend ever!"<p>

"I've never been to a ski resort before. This should be fun," Liam said. "We don't exactly have snow in the Demon Netherworld. Well, unless it's around Dong Xin, but nobody wants to go near the Ice Demon Sorcerer."

"I only went skiing with my dad once when I was a kid. I wasn't too good if I remember correctly," Mala said nervously. "Is that all you're wearing?" she asked Drago, who only wore a light jacket and no gloves or hat like the rest of them.

"The cold doesn't bother me, remember?"

"Anyway, what should we hit first? The slopes? Food?" Mavis suggested.

"We could try to get our equipment first, if we manage to beat the rest of the class there, not to mention all the other tourists and families coming up for the weekend. Otherwise we'll be in line for like an hour," added Tim.

"And then we'll hit the slopes!" Mavis declared. After they got their equipment, they took the lift up to the slopes. "Ah yeah, this is the life: cold crisp air, fresh powdery snow and my beloved friends to share it with," she announced dramatically.

"Uh, Mavis? What are you doing?" Mala asked.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. I've always wanted to say something dramatic and thoughtful from on top a snowy mountain," she laughed.

"Well now that you've done that, let's hurry up and do some skiing before nose gets runny," said Tim.

Mavis wasted no time in dashing down the slope, giving out a loud "WOOOOOOO" as she went while the sound of her voice echoed across mountains. The others just shook their heads and chuckled before following Mavis' example. Unlike the rest, Mala didn't take off immediately and instead slowly inched her way down the slope, trying desperately to maintain her balance on the slippery slop with her ski poles.

"Man that was awesome! Who wants to go again?" Mavis asked as they reached the bottom of the slopes. "Wait, where's Mala?"

"INCOMING!" Mala squealed as she slid right into Drago and Liam, tackling the two to the ground as snow toppled on top all three of them. "Ow, sorry!" she quickly apologized as they helped her up before brushing the snow off themselves.

"Wow Mala, for someone who can fly and shoot crystals, you are just terrible at skiing!" Mavis exclaimed.

"I told you, I've only done this once when I was a kid and I was terrible then! Look, you guys can go for another round if you want, but I'm heading into the lodge. I fell like 4 times and my everything is really sore," Mala complained, stepping out of her skis and rubbing her aching behind.

"Yeah I think I'll head in too," said Tim, blowing his nose into a tissue that he pulled from his jacket pocket.

"Party poopers," Mavis pouted as Tim and Mala made their way towards the lodge. "Oh, save me a hot chocolate!" she quickly called to them.

"Fine, but it you're not here by the time it cool, I'm drinking it!" Mala shouted back.

"Aaaah, that's the stuff," Tim sighed, cupping his hands around the piping hot cup of hot chocolate as he and Mala sat at a free table. "So you've only ever been skiing once before?"

"Yeah, my dad wouldn't take me out that often because he was afraid my powers might spark out of control and I'd be exposed. It wasn't until I got a little older when he let me go out more. I guess I'm more comfortable with flying than uncontrollably sliding down a mountain."

"My family and I would go on ski trips every few years. I'm never able to stay out too long though. The cold just makes my nose really runny," he explained, blowing his nose again and adding yet another crumpled up ball of tissue paper to the growing pile on their table. "Man, my nose is like a dripping faucet... of snot..." he mumbled.

"Classy."

* * *

><p>"Ok guys, first one to reach the bottom wins," Mavis started, as she, Drago and Liam stood atop an empty slope. "And most importantly, no powers. Ok, 1-2-3 go!" she said quickly as she dashed down the slope.<p>

"Hey!" Liam cried out as he and Drago took off after her. Just as they managed to catch up to her, Mavis reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a familiar wavy-edged coin. She squeezed the Coin tightly as she burst down the rest of the slope with incredible speed.

"That's how she wants to play, huh?" Drago held his hands behind him and let out two streams of fire that pushed him further down the slope.

"Ugh, does no one play fair anymore?" Liam muttered. He shot his hand forward and a shadow tendril wrapped tightly around a tree. Liam pulled on the tendril and used the momentum to catapult him after the two cheaters.

"Hey! No powers allowed!" Mavis shouted.

"Says the girl who shouted 'no powers' and then took off with the Falcon Coin! We're lucky no one uses this course anymore! People could have seen us using our powers," Liam shouted back. Once they reached the bottom of the slope, they made their way back to the lodge to meet up with Mala and Tim. "Ok, there is no way that counted whatsoever!"

"Oh don't be such a spoilsport. All's fair in war and... and not war," Mavis mumbled.

"Wow, that's not even close," Drago said.

"Whatever," Mavis responded. They met up with Tim and Mala and grabbed some nearby empty chairs to add to their table. "Aw, what's this? Cold hot chocolate?" Mavis despaired, examining the cup. However, she quickly perked up and leaned over to Drago and whispered, "Pst… Pssst! Hey, Hot shot, heat this up for me." She casually moved the cup over so that it sat in front of Drago.

"Sure," he replied with a light chuckle. He wrapped his hand around the cup as his hand glowed a faint orange, heating up the drink. He handed it back to Mavis, who pulled off the plastic lid and delighted at the sight of steam coming from the drink.

"Aw yeah, that's the stuff. And you said you would drink it if I took to long," she teased Mala, wrapping both her hands around the cup. When Mavis finally finished her hot chocolate, they made their way back to their rooms. "So what's the plan for tomorrow? Slopes again while you two stick around the lodge?"

"Yeah I'd rather not fall on my ass again, thanks," Mala noted.

"And I'd like to make it through this ski trip without catching a cold," Tim added with a sniffly nose. "I've already gone through two packs of tissue."

"Hey guys, hold up," said Drago, who had stopped to look at a poster on the wall.

"What's up?" Liam asked as they came up to him.

"Check it out," he said, motioning to the poster.

"It's a poster for the ski contest tomorrow. So what?" Mala asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah, but look at what's on the trophy," he said, pointing to the emblem on the centre of the cup. There was an image of a flower with a pentagon cut out in the middle and what looked like a jellyfish.

"Hey, that looks like it could be one of the Coins!" Liam exclaimed, leaning in for a closer look.

"I've never seen a Coin like that before," Mala commented.

"And it's a jellyfish… What do you think it does? Maybe like something sticky? Or tentacles? Ew, no that would be gross. Forget I said that," Mavis quickly added.

"But if it is a Coin, how come Tim's compass hasn't been going off?" Liam asked.

"Maybe we just haven't been in range? The poster says that the contest is tomorrow so we should scope it out then," said Tim.

* * *

><p>"Man, a lot of people turned up for that ski contest!" Mala said, gazing out at the large crowd of people in awe.<p>

"I'm not surprised, the grand prize for first place is a thousand dollars," said Drago.

"Wait, what? A thousand smackeroonies? For first place? And you're only bringing this up now?" Mavis exclaimed, grabbing the collar of Drago's jacket and shaking him back and forth as she spoke.

"It was written right on the poster!" he cried before prying her hands off his jacket.

"What? How did I miss that?" she whispered to herself, "A thousand dollars grand prize. Guys, we have to enter that contest! Imagine what we could buy with a thousand dollars!" she squealed, barely able to contain her excitement.

"But also to get the Coin that might be on the trophy, right?" Liam asked.

"Right, yeah, that too," Mavis added. A man walked up onto the large stage the crowd of people gathered around. As he made his announcement, the staff brought up a large metal trophy. All of a sudden, Tim's compass lit up and pointed directly towards the stage.

"Well, there's our answer," said Mala.

"Then it's settled! C'mon boys, let's go sign up for that contest!" Mavis declared, grabbing Liam and Drago's arms and dragging them over to the sign up table.

"You think they'll have a chance?" Mala asked.

"Hm, it's hard to say. I'm betting a lot of these contestants are really good. And they, or more specifically Mavis, won't exactly have the luxury of using powers. We should have a plan B just in case," Tim answered.

"I can probably sneak back stage and-oh shit!" Mala suddenly cursed. She quickly ducked behind a wooden post, dragging Tim with her.

"What? What?" he cried before Mala silenced him with a quick "Shh!"

"Look!" she whispered sharply. She held up her arm and pointed towards a person in the crowd. Tim narrowed his eyes and readjusted his glasses, trying to focus on the person Mala was indicating. He gasped when he recognized the pale skin, shoulder-length and messy dark hair and green eyes of the boy.

"Isn't that the hunter? What's he doing here?" Tim asked.

"Probably here to hunt us no doubt!"

"This is bad, really bad. What if he recognizes the others? He might not recognize you, Liam and Drago in human form, but he's sure to recognize me and Mavis. And once he sees all five of us together, he'll connect the dots! It's not exactly something difficult to figure out."

"And if he does recognize Liam and Drago, he might try to attack them during the contest," Mala added.

"Which will then spread panic, which is the last thing we need right now."

"So you and I are going to have to distract him."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Tim asked.

"I think we should talk to him."

"What? Are you crazy? He's been trying to kill you and our friends since you got here!" Tim protested.

"Because he thinks we're evil demons. I know we can get through to him if we try! Convince him we're not evil."

"And how sure are you?"

"95% sure," she answered.

"And the other 5%?" Tim asked.

"He'll keep trying to kill us."

"How reassuring. I'm just filled with confidence right now," he remarked.

"Relax, I'll protect you. Come on!"

Remington glided through the crowd of people at the ski resort, carefully scanning the crowd and surroundings for signs of anything out of the ordinary. All of a sudden, he felt something soft and cold strike him on the back of his head. A snowball. He felt the cold flakes fall into his jacket and hit his neck, sending a brief chill down his back. He quickly turned around to find the culprit but everyone he saw was preoccupied with their own friends. Something caught his eyes and he narrowed his gaze at a small white rabbit. The rabbit seemed to be focused on him and he didn't think much of it until, for a split second, the rabbit's eyes glowed bright red. Without another thought, he chased after the rabbit as it dashed away. He pushed people out of his way, barely managing to keep up with the speedy rabbit. He finally caught up to the rabbit and found himself in a small boxed corner at the back of the lodge. The rabbit suddenly turned pink and it's eyes turned red and he recognized it as the Crystal Demon's guardian. He sharply turned around when a wall of crystal formed in front of him, boxing him in.

"Dammit," he cursed, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a collapsible katana. However, Pearl changed form and roughly grabbed his forearm before seizing the katana from him.

"Be still," Mala said, suddenly appearing before him in her demon form from behind Pearl.

"Invisibility, clever," he remarked with a glare. "So this was a trap?"

"In a way," Mala replied, changing back to her human form.

"Ow, wait for me," Tim cried, slowly climbing down from the roof muttering "ow" several times as he went as he tried to descend without sliding down the roof entirely. He hung from the edge of the roof and tried to get a footing on the wall, but kept slipping.

"Pearl," Mala sighed. Pearl handed Mala the katana she seized from Remy and made her way over to Tim. Pearl reached up and grabbed Tim just under his armpits and lifted him off the wall and set him lightly on the ground.

"Thanks," he said, straightening up his jacket.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Mala said, noticing Remy carefully reach behind his back. "We just want to talk."

"Talk? All demons like you ever want to do is-"

"Oh would you just shut up!" Tim shouted.

"Tim…"

"No, Mala, I'm sick of hearing this guy's crap about how all demons are evil. What's your problem anyway?" Tim asked.

"My parents were demon hunters like me; they trained me and they were killed by your kind!" he shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Mala.

"And so you think I deserve punishment for something I didn't do? Just because of my heritage? Do you have any idea how stupid you sound? That's like saying if my mother was killed by humans, so I decided to hunt down every human I saw!" Mala argued.

"They deserve it! Demons are evil and they need to be slain!"

"Evil? Is that really what you think of me and my friends? If you've forgotten, I saved your life! Would an evil demon do that?"

"You must have had an ulterior motive for that!"

"Yeah, you know what the motive for that was? Not wanting you to die!" Tim interjected.

"Ok this is getting us nowhere. Let's start over. I know you're a Ryder hunter; I recognized your clan emblem. What's your name?" Mala asked sincerely.

He hesitated before answering, "Remington."

"I'm Mala and this is Tim," she introduced. "I know you think you have no reason to believe what we have to say, but just listen. We have no reason to lie to you. Tim and Mavis are completely human and they are our friends."

"You say demons are evil and should be slain? Well, consider this: how many atrocities in this world have been committed by humans? History has shown that humans are capable of just as much injustice, death and destruction as demons are. So why aren't you hunting them?" Tim asked.

"Because I am a demon hunter," Remy affirmed. "That has always been the Ryder Clan way!"

"Well, times have changed Remington. I come from human and demon blood, but I don't let that dictate what I am. I know who I am. If I see someone doing wrong, I'll stop them. If I see someone hurting my friends, I'll stop them. If you want to keep coming after us, fine, do whatever you want, but we will keep fighting back for our lives in self defence. Do what you want, just be smart and think about whether you really want to do what you're doing. Oh, and I wouldn't come after us while we're here. The last thing either of us want is to expose demons and magic to everyone," Mala said. She waved her hand as the crystal wall disappeared and she and Tim disappeared behind the corner followed by Pearl. Remy narrowed his eyes until they disappeared from his sight and moved over to his katana that Pearl had stabbed into the snow. He picked up the katana and collapsed the blade before tucking it back into his jacket and disappearing.

"Do you honestly thing that worked?" Tim asked.

"I don't know what to think. We either got through to him or we didn't, but I doubt it would have been that easy."

"Why are we even bothering with this, Mala?"

"I don't know, Tim! I just have this gut feeling about him," she replied.

"Hoo, better not let Drago hear you say that. He'll get mad jealous," Tim chuckled.

"Shut up, no he won't!" she insisted. "Besides, maybe we can turn him around or at the very least get him to leave us alone. That way we'd have one less thing to worry about. Having to fight Daolon Wong while he find these Coins is bad enough already."

"I know it's silly, but I feel like I can convince him that we're not the kind of demons he's hunting. Come on, you heard him say himself that his parents were killed by demons."

"It would make sense that he'd develop a hatred for all demons. That kind of trauma isn't something you just walk away from without a problem," said Tim. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens then."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe none of us won! How could we not win! We were practically a shoe in for winning!" Mavis shouted.<p>

"Well, obviously we weren't allowed to use our powers," said Liam.

"Hmph! There's always a technicality," she grumbled.

"So, how'd it go, guys?" Tim asked.

"We didn't win. Although Hot shot here came pretty close," said Liam, patting Drago on the back.

"Really? Since when did you know how to snowboard so well?" Mala asked.

"I may have picked up a few things from the three stooges," he replied with a smile as Mala couldn't help but smile back. However, she quickly came back to her senses and stopped smiling at Drago.

"So what now? None of us won, so we can't get the trophy with the Coin!" shouted Mavis. "I guess there's nothing left to do but plan a midnight break-in and steal that trophy. Callahan's Six anyone?"

"Yeah, Mavis that's a great idea, but maybe instead we can just enjoy the rest of the trip," Mala said, holding up the flower shaped Coin with the pink jellyfish sigil.

"Wha? How? But that- And he- And that-" Mavis stammered.

"Uh oh, I think you broke her," Liam commented.

"While you guys were busy, Mala used her invisibility to sneak backstage and steal the Coin off the trophy," Tim explained.

"I replaced it with a crystal copy so no one would notice. I've gotten better at making copies now so they won't shatter when someone gets too close," said Mala.

"Nice!" Mavis grinned, quickly seizing the Coin. "I can't wait to find out what this one does!"

"Maybe we should wait until we get back home first before we start testing it out," said Tim, taking it back.

"Aw, fine," Mavis pouted. "But until then, more snow!"

* * *

><p><strong>Jellyfish, wonder what that does lol. But if you follow me on deviantart, you'll probably already know what it does. <strong>

**Next chapter - Los Angeles is hit by a raging thunderstorm and thick snowstorm that could tear the city apart. Meanwhile, while tracking down the next Coin, one of the group is critically injured in battle.**


	14. Double Storm

**Two down, one final to go! Wish me luck for tomorrow :D Anyway, I think this chapter is the one I've been looking forward to the most... I'm sure you'll see why ;) Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Come on, man. Hurry up! It's freezing up here!" said a repairman as he and his partner stood on the roof of a tall building. He hugged himself when a cold gust of wind swept by while his partner was focused on the large satellite dish they had been called to fix.<p>

"Just a sec! Man, I don't know what happened, but the last guy who worked on this really messed it up!" the other repairman said in a disappointed tone.

"How bad is it?" the first repairman asked, hovering over his partner's shoulder to examine his work.

"This entire section here needs to be replaced. The good news is we've got some replacements back at the office, but we won't be able to go and get them until we're done with all our appointments today. And then when we do, it'll take a few hours to replace the components and recalibrate the entire system. Luckily, I know a little trick," he explained, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a coin. It was a twelve sided coin with a purple dragon on one side. He put the coin between two anchor points in the satellite's control box before shutting the cover. "That'll hold it for a while until we can come back."

"Good, now let's get out of here. I'm starving! I hear there's a great shawarma place down on 7th avenue," said the first repairman, famished. Just as they came out, they noticed thick, dark clouds forming in the sky above them. The wind picked up as a light rain began. "The weather report didn't say anything about rain today," he said, holding out his hand and catching a few drops in his palm.

"Eh, the weather's always unpredictable," said the other as they packed their gear into their van. By the time they finished and drove off to their next job, the clouds grew larger and darker, spreading across nearly the entire city as the low growl of thunder echoed.

* * *

><p>"Aaahh…Aaaahhh…AAAHHCHOOO!" Mavis sneezed loudly before rubbing her nose. "Man, this cold is terrible! I can't feel my toes! Actually I can't feel my everything!" she shivered, hugging herself tightly.<p>

"The weather forecast didn't say anything about a snowstorm! They even canceled school today because of all the snow!" Tim explained.

"Yeah, the only good thing to come out of this snowstorm," Mavis quickly added.

"Here," Drago said, taking off his jacket and preparing to drape it over Mala's shaking form.

"No thanks," she quickly answered, stepping away from him slightly. However, a sudden cold gust of wind blew by causing her to quickly grab the jacket Drago still held out as an offer and wrap it around her shoulders. She tightly grasped the collar of the jacket and glared at Drago in annoyance while he simply gave her a smug look.

"Not like he needs it," Mavis mumbled, "Lucky bastard and his Fire Demon Chi. Must be nice to be a walking furnace. Achoo!"

"This is nothing! Have you heard the news? Apparently there's a big thunderstorm on the other side of the city! Wind, rain, lightning, the works!" Liam cried, brushing the snow off his shoulders.

"It's an atmospherical anomaly and Los Angeles isn't known for having weather this bizarre!" Tim said, blowing his nose into a tissue. Tim pushed open the door to the coffee shop and held it open as the rest of the group came in after him.

"Hey, Liam, can I talk to you in private?" Mala asked, taking the door from Tim.

"Yeah, sure," he said, following her outside while the others got in the long lineup. "What's up?"

"I gotta ask: why are you taking Drago's side?"

"I'm not," he answered.

"Yes, you are!" Mala insisted. "I can respect Tim and Mavis wanting to stay out of this because it has nothing to do with them, but you, as my friend, side with Drago? It's bad enough that I have to put up with him every day now, but my own friend isn't supporting me?"

"Mala, I-"

"You have no idea what he did! How can you honestly give him a chance after what he did to me?"

"Because if someone doesn't give him a chance now, when he needs it most, he's going to end up exactly where he was before, if not worse!" Liam snapped, silencing Mala as she looked at him with shocked eyes. "You got lucky Mala; you had a father who loved you, raised you and protected you. Drago and I? We were luck to be alive! You and I both know that more than half the things we've heard about Shen Du are true. Put yourself in Drago's shoes; imagine what it must have been like to have that monster as your father!" Liam closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself before he continued speaking. "Look, I'm not going to pretend like I was there when he broke your heart or when he tricked you, but I know it had to hurt and seeing him everyday can't have been easy. But I know you Mala. I know that some part of you deep down still cares about him."

Mala simply stared at Liam, processing what he was saying before she spoke, "I just don't get why he's trying so hard to get my approval!"

"I think you do know why. You just don't want to admit it," he said, putting a consoling hand on her shoulder. "You're the most important person in his life and he cares about what you think of him. Your opinion is all that matters now and if you reject him when he's begging for forgiveness, when he's changed, that will be the final push over the edge."

"Drago's a tough guy; he'll get over it."

"And yet you won't get over his past mistakes. We all make mistakes, Mala, some that we're not proud of. Drago's not proud of what he did and he's admitting it! I know you've seen he's changed and I know a part of you wants to be with him again. So why are you standing in the way of your own happiness?"

"Why are you so sure that if I reject Drago, he'll spiral out of control?" she asked.

"Because I know in my heart that that's what would have happened to me if Tim and Mavis didn't give me a chance. People like us are different, Mala. We're not normal members of this society, but we seek their acceptance nonetheless to attain some form of happiness and peace. How much do you want to bet that Drago did whatever he could to earn his father's acceptance? And with someone like Shen Du, Drago would have had to deal with constant rejection and disappointment. It's no surprise that he started acting out the way he did and I'm honestly shocked that he's not far worse. You and I were lucky, Mala. You had your father and I had Tim and Mavis. Drago didn't have anyone."

They stood in line for nearly twenty minutes before getting their warm drinks.

"All right, let's get this hot chocolate all up in me!" Mavis loudly declared. All of a sudden, Tim's compass began glowing brightly from within his messenger bag. Just as Tim hid the bag under their table to conceal the glowing light from the other patrons, he reached in to grab the compass only to be stopped by Mavis. "Wait! Just let me enjoy this hot chocolate before we go off on our next quest in this god awful snowstorm."

"Fine," Tim sighed. The five of them sat in silence as Mavis slowly blew on her hot chocolate before taking several small sips. She licked her lips and signed in content. "You good?" he asked, to which Mavis happily nodded.

"Yup, let's get our coin on! Oh, oh! Operation: Eye of the Storm!" she clapped her hands in excitement as the five of them piled outside the coffee shop before gathering around Tim as he pulled out the compass.

"Whoa, it's never done this before!" he gasped. The needle of the compass bounced back and forth between two spots as if the needle couldn't decide which side to stay on.

"What do you think is causing it?" Liam asked.

"Well, the best guess I can come up with is either magical interference or we're dealing with two Coins simultaneously," Tim explained.

"Hang on, two Coins? Two at once? At the same time? Then that would make this Operation: Eyes of the Storm, plural," Mavis asked with wide and excited eyes.

"That's what 'simultaneously' means, Mavis," Mala said.

"Psh, I know what 'simultaneously' means, Mala, thank you," she bit back.

"So what's the plan?" Drago asked.

"I'd say it's the same situation as with the zoo. We split up," Liam answered.

"But the city is way bigger than the zoo and I can only track one Coin at a time!" Tim added.

"I can use a spell to track the other one," said Mala.

"Good. And if we have a whole city to cover, not to mention this crazy weather to deal with, it'll be best if the two of us who can fly split up. Tim, Mavis you're with me and Mala you're with..." Liam's sentence slowed to a stop as he noticed a disgruntled expression forming on Mala's face. Her eyes narrowed at him while her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pouted ever so slightly.

"Just finish the sentence," Mala muttered.

"...Drago," Liam answered awkwardly.

Mala sighed and looked at Drago, who simply gave her a nervous smile and subtle shrug of his shoulder. "Let's just do this."

As fast as they could, they made their way to Kuang's store so Mala and Tim could manufacture a second tracking spell before they split up: Linos, Tim and Mavis in the snowstorm and Mala and Drago in the thunderstorm.

"Are you sure it was a good idea sending Drago with Mala? You know she's still pissed at him, right?" Tim shouted over the howling winds as Linos flew over the city buildings with his two human friends in either of his arms.

"Yeah and I don't think they've spent any real alone together since he first showed up!" Mavis added. She held her mitten covered hand over her cat-eared toque to keep it from flying away as Linos carried them through the sky.

"What about when we were in the sewers?" Tim asked.

"Doesn't count! Mala told me she practically ditched him right away!"

"What those two need is some time together if they're going to move past their fight. It's only a matter of time before Drago starts getting frustrated and their tension ends up affecting the team! Those two have issues they need to work out."

"Take a left right here!" Tim suddenly shouted, pointing to their left. Linos made a sharp turn around the corner of a tall building.

"And what if they don't work things out?" Mavis asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it!" Linos replied.

"Just a little further… whoa," Tim's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped in surprise. "Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" he asked as the trio looked up to the large satellite dish that sat on top of the tall building in front of them.

"Uh, is that satellite dish glowing?" Mavis cried in astonishment.

"The Coin's signal is coming from there!" Tim added, pointing to the satellite dish.

"The satellite dish must be amplifying the Coin's power somehow! That must be what's causing the snowstorm!" Linos noted.

Just then, Tim's cellphone started ringing. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. "Hello? Mala! You'll never guess where we found the Coin! Ye-yeah! How did you know that?" Tim shouted over the raging winds into his cellphone.

* * *

><p>"Let's call it a lucky guess," Mala replied into her cellphone. She and Drago hovered in front of a building with a satellite dish on the roof like the one their friends had found. She put her phone away and turned to Drago, who she held in one of her arms while his was around her shoulder. "The others are at a satellite dish like us. Tim thinks it might be amplifying the Coins' powers somehow."<p>

"Which would explain the bizarre weather we've been having all day," Drago added.

"Let's check it out, then," Mala said, flying them up to the rooftop. She set them down, but quickly raised her arms to shield herself from the strong winds that picked up. Lightning struck around them as Mala said, "Lightning... great," remembering the last time she was caught in a lightning storm.

Before they could make it up to the satellite dish, three throwing knives suddenly landed in front of them in a straight row. The hunter jumped down from the roof of the next building and landed in front of them with his katana drawn.

"Remington!" Mala cried. "What are you doing?"

"What a member of the Ryder Clan does: slay demons!" he answered back with fierce determination. He lunged forward to attack the two, but both managed to jump out of the way of his attack. Drago formed two fireballs in his hands and threw them towards Remington, who easily dodged them with a roll. Remington pulled two bolas out from his belt and threw them towards Drago. The cables wrapped around Drago's torso and legs, tightly binding him as the force of the impact knocked him roughly against the wall. When he heard Pearl dashing up to him, he threw a bolas at the construct as well. With Drago and Pearl down, Remy turned his attention to Mala. He threw more throwing knives at her, but she raised a crystal barrier in front of her to shield herself before flying up above the roof. She sent a rain of crystal shards back at him in return, but he easily dodged them before deflecting the rest with his katana. With swiftness Mala had never seen before, Remy's hand shot up and caught the final shard right before it struck his face. He narrowed his eyes at her before tossing the shard aside as if it was nothing. She saw him reach into a pouch on his belt and pull out a vial of a dark red liquid. He bit the cork off and poured the liquid onto the blade of his katana.

Mala was so focused on what Remington was doing that she didn't notice the storm clouds forming just over her. A bolt of lightning shot out from the clouds and struck her right on her back. Mala cried out in pain as lightning shot out from her hands and one bolt struck one of the support beams of the satellite dish. Mala fell down to the roof, weak and completely drained of her energy. She let out a frail groan as she weakly tried to push herself off the ground. She could only push herself up a few inches before her arms gave out and she fell back down as if her body was suddenly three times as heavy.

"This is a sample of my blood," Remy said, holding up his katana as Mala looked at him with a weary expression. "You're a smart one, Mala. Do you know what the blood of a hunter does to a demon?"

"Please, don't do this. You're making a mistake, Remington," she whispered feebly. But Remington said nothing to her as he raised his katana over his head as the blood dripped down the blade.

"No!" Drago roared loudly as he finally managed to rip through his bindings with his fire. As fast as he could, he ran over to Mala and put himself between her and Remington. Just as he raised his right arm, Remington brought the blood drenched katana down, slicing Drago's shoulder and his forearm. The blade cut right through his scales as scarlet blood spurted out from his wounds. Drago fell back and roared in pain, grasping his right shoulder with his left hand. He writhed in pain as Remington's blood burned his skin and wounds.

"Drago!" Mala cried out with wide eyes. She had only heard rumours of what direct contact with demon hunter blood could do to demons, but she never thought it would be this bad. She could see that Drago was in pain, a lot of pain. His teeth were gritted so hard that she swore he would have chipped a tooth. His eyes were shut tight and he tightly gripped his arm, desperately trying to bite through the pain without fidgeting, lest he risk getting more of Remington's blood on him. "Oh no, no, no, no, no," she frantically repeated. She hovered over his shoulder as she knelt next to him. When she heard approaching footsteps, Mala sharply turned her head to face the oncoming hunter with a raised, bloody katana. Her watery eyes narrowed and glowed a menacing red as she angrily slammed her fist into the ground. Crystals formed around her hand before spreading up to Remington. The crystals continued growing around him and stopped once he was fully encased, leaving only his head and forearms free. He struggled and tried to pull himself free, but the crystals were too strong and held him in place. His katana slipped from his grip and landed on the floor next to him as he continued struggling. Mala returned her attention to Drago, who was now weary, mumbling incoherent words as his eyes slowly closed. "No, no, Drago, stay with me!" she pleaded. She moved her hands to tend to his wound, but sharply drew her hands back when her fingers touched the hunter's blood, which burned her skin on contact. "Ah!" she hissed.

A crack of thunder pulled Mala from her focus on Drago and reminded her of the raging storm the Coin they had come to search for. She freed Pearl and ordered her construct to stay by Drago's side as she examined the satellite dish control box. She tore open the cover, not caring if she damaged the panel in the process. She scanned the circuitry before spotting a silver coin. She roughly drove her hand into the circuitry and ripped the Coin out, pulling sprayed wire ends along with it. Right away, the storm above them quieted down and slowly disappeared, dark clouds faded and gave way to a bright, clear sky. Just as she made her way back to Drago, she heard the support beam of the start to give out and looked up to see the satellite dish start to fall over all of them. With quick thinking, she stomped her foot on the ground and a tall crystal pillar formed over them, catching the satellite dish and holding it in place.

"I should kill you," Mala whispered grimly as she brought her face close to the hunter's. She raised her right arm as her two pink claws extended towards Remington's neck. He lifted his chin as he felt her crystal blades lightly touch his throat. His breath picked up slightly as he carefully eyed the bright pink blades. He closed his eyes and waited for the killing blow, but when he felt the cool crystal pull away from his neck, he opened his eyes in confusion. Mala had turned away from him and gone back to Drago's side. She threw his good arm over her shoulders before carefully lifting him up and taking off into the distance.

* * *

><p>"Come on, come on, where is that stupid Coin?" Mavis muttered, slowly walking along the rooftop, trying to find the Coin while Linos and Tim engaged Daolon Wong in battle.<p>

"Would you hurry up and find that Coin?" Tim shouted over the cold wind.

"I'm trying, but I have no idea how to read your stupid compass!"

"Check around the satellite. The Coin's gotta be near the satellite is amplifying it's power!" Linos shouted.

"Would you just focus on keeping wrinkle face busy!" Mavis shouted as Linos barely managed to dodge a dark energy blast from Wong's staff. "Ok, near the satellite, near the satellite," she repeated to herself before coming to the satellite's control box. "Oh! Psh, duh! It's gotta be in here! How did I miss this?" Mavis laughed to herself. "Huh…ok, how do I get this open?" She dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a handful of silver coins. "Bat, phoenix, cat, falcon, aha bear!" She smiled after picking through each Coin until she found the square shaped one with a brown bear sigil. She deposited the other Coins back into her pocket before squeezing the Bear Coin tightly in her palm. She could feel the Coin granting her its strength as she pulled open the panel box without any effort. "Ah, hello my pretty," she grinned, spotting a silver Coin. She pulled it out of the circuitry, causing the surrounding snowstorm to dissipate.

Mavis ran up to the edge of the roof and caught sight of Daolon Wong and Tim exchanging magic blasts while Linos carried Tim as they flew. "Ohoho, this is gonna be fun." She held the new addition to her Coins in her palm, noting the cyan sigil of a wolf head, before holding out her arm in front of her and aiming the face of the Coin at Daolon Wong. A chilling beam of ice shot out from the face of the Coin and struck Wong, instantly encasing him within solid ice.

"Whoa!" Linos exclaimed. He set Tim down on the roof as they regrouped with Mavis, who proudly flipped the Coin before expertly catching it in her hand. "How did you know what it would do?"

"Well, come on, it made this enormous snowstorm so it had to have some sort of ice powers," Mavis answered. Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrate and reached into her pocket to pull it out. "Uh oh," she said, reading the new text message.

"What?" Tim asked.

"Good news and bad news. The good news is Mala and Drago got the Coin," Mavis started.

"And the bad news?" asked Linos.

"Drago's hurt real bad."

"Where are they now?" Tim asked.

"At Old Man Kuang's," Mavis answered. The three of them made their way over to Kuang's shop as quickly as they could. They found Mala pacing in front of the door that led to Kuang's back room. "What happened?"

"We ran into the hunter and Drago got hurt!" Mala cried frantically.

"Mala, calm down. What exactly happened? How did Drago get injured?" Tim asked.

"Hunter blood," she answered.

"Shit…" Liam gasped.

"What? Why is that bad?" Mavis asked.

"The blood of a demon hunter is like acid to demons. It burns us on contact. Normally, it's not lethal, but if a demon gets coated in the stuff, their chances are slim," Liam explained. "Where'd he get hit?"

"His shoulder and arm," Mala answered.

"He should be all right for the most part then. He'll be in a lot of pain for a few days though. This isn't something the Winged Unicorn Coin can fix, at least not completely," said Liam.

"How is he doing?" Mala quickly asked as Kuang came out from the back room.

"I've done what I can, but the young dragon is strong. I cleaned as much of the hunter's blood off him as I could, but some got into his wounds. I've given him a special formula to neutralize the hunter's blood. You can go in and see him now, but he won't wake up until tomorrow," Kuang explained.

Mala brushed past Kuang lightly and spotted Drago sound asleep on the large couch next to Kuang's workbench. She pulled a nearby chair next to the couch and sat down. She lightly traced her fingers over his bandaged forearm and wrist as she inspected his bandaged shoulder. She sighed in relief at the sight of Kuang's work. Drago certainly looked better, though that could very well have just been an illusion brought on by his sleeping face.

"Hey." Mala looked up and saw Liam come in. He stood right behind her and crossed his arms. "He looks like he'll be fine. You don't need to worry," he assured her.

"It was supposed to be me," Mala muttered.

"What?" Liam asked, not catching what she said.

"I was supposed to be the one who got hurt. Remington was going to hit me with his sword, but Drago ran in between us…"

"Well, I'm not surprised. The guy would do anything to keep you safe."

"You were right, Liam."

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked.

"You were right, Liam, about everything. I wanted to hate him; I wanted not to care about him and I thought that if I just kept telling myself that I hated him then I'd believe it. To be honest, when I saw him again that first time, I-I was happy and scared at the same time. I was happy because I still cared about him but I was afraid that everything that happened in San Francisco was going to happen here again. But then he got hurt and it was like I was going to lose him for good… and I didn't want that. You were right when you said I knew why he was trying so hard for my approval. And I know that if I reject him, it'll hurt more than all the times Shen Du rejected him combined."

"But…?"

"But… I just don't think I'm ready to forgive him yet. I'm scared that I'll get hurt again!" she wailed, wiping the small tears that began forming in her eyes.

"Hey, hey," Liam started, gently rubbing Mala's shoulders as he knelt down next to her. "I know it's scary. When Mavis found out the truth about me, I was terrified! Terrified of what she might do and what she might think of me. But the fact of the matter is that fear is just a part of life and finding happiness; it helps reminds us that we're alive. Maybe you and Drago didn't start out perfectly, but if you want, it can end perfectly. I think the two of you have just been chasing each other for a long time now."

"Thanks, Liam," she sniffled while gently squeezing his hand as thanks.

"No problem. Now, I'll give you two some privacy," he said, stepping out. "Oh, Kuang's about to close the shop. He wants to keep Drago here overnight and he says you're welcome to stay," Liam quickly added, poking his head back into the room before leaving.

Mala's gaze shifted to Drago's peaceful, slumbering face once more. She gently took his hand in hers, feeling her soft skin rubbing against his rough skin. She kept his hand in her left hand as she reached her right hand up to his face. She brushed a strand of his hand back, the one that always fell forward over his forehead rather than staying with the rest of his spiky hair. But the minute is slipped through her fingers, it fell back into its place. It was almost as if this one strand of hair, this one tiny part of the whole was defying the rest, determined to sit where it wanted. She couldn't help but think how much Drago was like that now: defying everything he had been brought up to believe so he could do what he wanted.

But despite everything, she couldn't bring herself to forgive him… at least not yet.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: The group is forced to work the Remington Ryder when one of his traps goes awry.<strong>


	15. Unlikely Partnership

**Ok, between playing video games, playing World of Warcraft with D-Sniper and recovering from wisdom teeth removal, I'm surprised I finally managed to get this chapter done. I swear it's like I've been working on it all week little by little! And boy is it a long one! I hope you guys like it because I think it just shot to the top of my list of favorite chapters ;)**

* * *

><p>He ran the event in his head over and over again: the way that Fire Demon just threw himself in front of the Crystal Demon, Mala. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that the dragon was trying to protect her. He scoffed. 'Protective' was the last word he'd use to describe a demon, among other things. Even the thought of a demon wanting to protect someone other than itself just couldn't register to Remy. It didn't make sense. In the past few weeks, it felt like everything his parents had taught him was wrong, or at least grossly inaccurate. With each encounter, these demons would do something that just didn't seem completely right to him. The way he'd describe the character was almost… human.<p>

That's when it hit him. He remembered all this time that Mala had been preaching how she was half-human. Could it be true? If so, then that would explain a lot of things, such as why they acted so, so human. The idea was maddening, baffling!

_'Demons always lie. When backed into a corner, they will twist their words and make you believe something that isn't true. Anything to gain the upper hand.'_

That was something his parents had taught him. "You can never trust a demon," they had said. It was a point they always made a habit of emphasizing, as if forgetting it for even a second would give a demon the chance to trick you. Remy reached over and picked up the picture frame off his dresser. His eyes glanced slowly over the faces of his parents. Memories of his lessons and training sessions with them filled his head fondly followed quickly by the memory of their death, which turned his faint smile into a frown. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he loved learning to fight and learning about demons. Other parents might look at his and accuse them of brainwashing him; filling his head with crazy ideals so he'd follow in their footsteps on a dangerous and out-dated practice. But it wasn't always the parents that thought so. Remy's eyes moved from his parents over to himself and the boy that sat next to him in front of their parents. He and Remy looked exactly alike, except where Remy had long messy hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed properly, the other boy sported a more neat, regular haircut. Remy was smiling in the picture, but the other boy wasn't, but that didn't surprise him: his brother never did approve of the "family business".

_'Ok, let's start this over,'_ he thought. Here were two demons, soon joined by a third, that at no point expressed any immediate "evil" intentions. They didn't kill people or rampage across the city like other demons would. They were smart; they all had covers to hide behind, human aliases. Demons wouldn't bother with something so complex or complicated. If anything, demons were the opposite: loud and drawing as much attention to their actions as possible. Yet when he examined these demons' movements, they seemed to take extra precautions to be discrete. Demons were anything but discrete, but they were… Why?

Remy's thoughts came back to Mala. When he was at the ski lodge, she and her human friend Tim - something Remy almost couldn't believe either - had lured him to somewhere secluded and quiet all to talk. He half expected them to burst out of the roof of the lodge and destroy half the resort. But, that's not what they did.

For the first time in his life, Remy didn't know what to think. Everything he knew about demons was something his parents had taught him. But here were demons that contradicted everything he knew. A slim part of him wanted to give these demons a chance, see where it took him and if he could learn anything from them. But it was only a slim part and Remy couldn't deny who he was.

"I am a demon hunter," he whispered to himself in reassurance. If there were demons running about, no matter what they were doing, it was his duty to mankind to slay them. However, all his attempts to slay them had failed. These demons weren't like the simple scouts or minions he'd slain before. They were smart and well-coordinated; slaying them may not be entirely possible by himself. Remy grabbed an old wooden slip and rolled it open on his desk. The contents had been in his family for generations, but the copy he had was no older than himself. The slips of wood were still a bright red-brown and the ink dark. The reason for this was because part of Ryder hunter training involved trainees writing out their own copy of the manual. Remy traced his index finger down each slip at a time, scanning the Chinese characters for the section he was looking for. When he found the passage, he leaned in closer to read the characters.

Those demons had made a mockery of him and the Ryder Clan and this spell would allow him to finally do away with those wretched demons.

* * *

><p>"Man, can you believe the Winter Formal is this Friday? That's like… this week!" Mavis cried as the five of them strolled through the bustling halls as students began packing up their things to head home.<p>

"I've never been to a Winter Formal. It'll be nice to actually go to a school dance," said Mala.

"You've never been to one?" Tim asked.

"No, dad never wanted me to go in case my powers got out of hand. A lot of crazy stuff can happen at school dances."

"True dat," Mavis concurred. "So, Mala, I'm thinking you and I hit the shops after school today? We should definitely get our dresses together, that way we don't clash or worse, suffer some miscommunication. Remember Halloween?"

"Mavis, I told you, I thought you said we were going as witches!" Mala groaned.

"Not witches, W.I.T.C.H.! I was Irma and you were gonna be my Will!"

"Yeah, that's another thing I don't get. Shouldn't I be Irma and you be Will? I actually have brown hair and you're hair is almost red." Mala quickly stopped her sentence when she saw a rare serious glare from Mavis.

"I'm always Irma…" she mumbled.

"Ok, ok, you're Irma," Mala gently conceded before quickly changing the subject. "So dress shopping!"

"Right, dress shopping! I was thinking something bright and fun for me, you know, something that just screams 'I'm here to party', but not too crazy that I can't wear it again at what I'll call less festive celebrations."

"You've really put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?" Mala asked.

"Hey, my parents gave me enough money to buy a dress, a nice one but not too expensive, so I've got to find the perfect one! Man, I sound like one of those popular girls, don't I?"

"Winter Formal huh? I guess that means us guys have to go rent some suits," Liam said before quickly turning to Tim and asking, "That's what we do, right?" Tim nodded. "Oh, good. Yeah, we don't have any dances or really any enjoyable get-togethers in the Netherworld."

"Don't worry, Liam, you've got a genuine expert on parties right here. Just one warning though: I swear to demon god-"

"But we don't have a demon god," Liam interrupted, "We have a demon king though, if that helps."

"Ok, I swear to demon king," Mavis continued, "that if you get one of those god ugly bright blue suits for the Winter Formal, I will put a hornet's nest in your clocktower."

"Oooh, you don't want that," Mala added.

"Don't worry, Mavis, I'll make sure he gets something nice," Tim assured her. "So, Drago, how's your arm doing?"

"It's better, but my arm and shoulder still ache a bit. Kuang said it would leave a scar though," Drago answered, gently rubbing his shoulder. Mala's eyes widened briefly before she cast her eyes downward in guilt. Drago noticed this and whispered to Liam, "What's wrong with Mala?"

"I'm pretty sure she's feeling guilty, since, you know, you got hurt protecting her," Liam whispered back. "You were out cold for almost a whole day. She stayed by your side the entire time."

"She did?" he asked in surprise as a small smile formed across his face.

"Eh, who knows? Maybe you nearly getting killed with demon hunter blood might be the thing that makes her finally come around," Liam shrugged.

"Heh, I just hope it only needs to be the one time," Drago chuckled.

Just as they exited the school from the front doors, Tim's compass began glowing wildly. They quickly ducked behind the corner of the school and made sure the coast was clear before Tim pulled the compass out of his bag. "That's strange… this shouldn't be going off," Tim commented.

"It doesn't make sense. All the thirteen Coins have already been discovered. We have ten and Daolon Wong has three," Mala added.

"Then what could the compass be picking up?" Liam asked.

Mavis gasped loudly, "Do you realize what this means? And pause for dramatic effect…" she whispered that last part as she waited a couple of seconds while all her friends' eyes were focused on her. "There must be a fourteenth Coin!"

"Fourteen, I dunno, my book didn't say anything about a fourteenth Coin. It only mentioned thirteen," Mala said unconvinced.

"Chi Wizards like their secrets; it is possible information on a fourteenth Coin just never made it into public knowledge," Liam added.

"If there is a fourteenth Coin, we should look into it. We may have more Coins than Wong, but that doesn't mean we can just let Wong get this one," Tim said.

"Then what are we waiting for? If there's another Coin we don't know about, we should track it down and get to the bottom of it!" Drago insisted.

"You just make sure you be careful. You're still injured," Mala noted to which Drago nodded.

* * *

><p>"Isn't that compass supposed to lead us right to it?" Mavis complained.<p>

"It leads us to the general area where the Coin is supposed to be, but it's not exactly a trail of breadcrumbs. That's why we split up: Linos, Drago and Mala should be able to naturally detect the Coin's magical aura now that we're within its vicinity. Non-magic sensing beings like us, however, will have to make do with my compass," Tim explained. "Oh, hold on, it's close. Should be right about here!" Tim looked up from his compass to find a small, glowing orb at their feet in front of them.

"Uh, that ain't no Coin," Mavis noticed.

"No, it's not. Then why is it giving off the same magical energy signature as a Coin?" Tim inquired.

"Well, if there's one thing movies and video games have taught me, it's to always touch the strange, inconspicuous glowing object," Mavis said, reaching down to the orb.

"No, Mavis wait!" Tim shouted. But he was too late; Mavis' hand wrapped around the orb when all of a sudden, a large circle of light appeared around them.

"What's happening?" Mavis shouted over the growing sound of the spell activating as the wind picked up.

"I don't know! Let's get out of here!" They ran over to the edge of the circle, only for Tim to suddenly be pushed back by an invisible force. "Ow!" he cursed, landing roughly on his back. Once Mavis helped him up, she ran up to the edge of the circle and slowly stuck out her hand. She gasped when she felt her palm touch an invisible force before she forcefully banged her fists, hoping to break through.

"It's like a barrier or something!" Mavis shouted. The pair looked down when they noticed a light growing beneath them. A large red portal opened beneath their feet before it sucked them inside, their screams echoing as the portal closed and the circle disappeared.

Hearing their screams, Linos, Drago and Mala quickly arrived on the scene, but the portal closed and any trace of the spell disappeared before they could reach it. "Tim! Mavis!" Linos shouted, his eyes widened in dread at the sight of his missing friends. "Where'd they go!" he shouted.

"What the hell was that?" Drago asked.

"A Chi spell," Mala said, inspecting the ground where the portal sucked up their friends. "There was no fourteenth Coin; this was a trap!"

"Set by whom?" Linos asked angrily.

"That would be me." The three demons turned their heads in the direction of a familiar voice and saw none other than Remington standing before them.

"You!" Linos snarled fiercely as his eyes glowed a menacing red. He lunged forward to the hunter, who surprisingly offered no resistance, tightly gripping the fabric of Remington's hunter suit and roughly slamming him against the wall. "Do you have any idea what you've done!"

"That trap was meant for the three of you!" Remington bit back.

"But it didn't lure us, did it? What kind of trap was that?" Linos shouted.

"It was a Ru Kou demon trap, wasn't it?" Mala asked as Remington nodded in confirmation.

"What's a Ru Kou demon trap?" asked Drago.

"A hunter generates a spell to fake a magical aura to draw in their target. Once the demon touches the object emitting the false aura, a portal to the demon world opens beneath them and they get sucked in," she explained.

"You know your demon traps," Remington commented.

"I learned from the best," Mala replied.

"Well, now he's about to learn not to fuck with my friends!" Linos roared, raising his hand as shadow tendrils formed behind him, ready to strike.

"Wait!" Mala interrupted, before stepping between Linos and Remington, forcing the Shadow Demon to release the hunter. She lightly put her hands on their chests to gently push them apart from each other. "We're not going to kill him!" she insisted.

"Why not? He sent my best friends to the Demon Netherworld! They're as good as dead! They wouldn't survive there; I would know, I spent more than half my life just fighting to see the next day! And how about after he nearly killed Drago, Mala? You said so yourself that you nearly killed him!"

"But I didn't! Because I knew it wouldn't solve anything. Killing him wouldn't magically make Drago better! Maybe I nearly let my demon side give into the temptation, but it wouldn't have been the human thing to do. You may not have an ounce of human blood in you, Linos, but you have a human spirit." Linos sighed angrily and closed his eyes before destroying a nearby lamppost with a shadow tendril.

"So if we aren't going to kill him, then what are we going to do?" Drago asked.

"Of course we aren't going to kill him, because he's going to help us."

"What?!" the three boys exclaimed simultaneously.

"Help from him? He almost killed me and he sent Mavis and Tim to the Demon Netherworld!" Linos shouted.

"I know that! But somebody here has to be the reasonable one. Between you two being pissed off and Remington's… caution towards demons, it obviously falls to me to be the rational thinker."

"But he-" Linos started.

"And I-" Remington said at the same time.

"Shut up, both of you! I've tried giving you chance after chance Remington and now you've endangered my best friends and so help me, you are going to help us save them!" Mala shouted, silencing the two. "I need to think! If we're lucky, Mavis and Tim landed in a more empty part of the Netherworld."

"Of which there are a lot," Linos said.

"Good, then they might be just fine. But we're on a time crunch. Any second now a demon could come across them, so we need to act quickly."

"What are you thinking?" Drago inquired.

"We're going to open our own portal and get our friends back," she answered. Mala led them back to Kuang's shop, the three demons now in their human form and joined by Remington.

"Are you crazy? How do you expect to open a portal to the Demon Netherworld?" Liam cried.

"My father was one of the most powerful Chi Wizards in the world! I can do it; I know I can," she said determined. Kuang greeted them when they entered the shop and made their way to the back room.

"Y-you're Chi Master Kuang!" Remington gasped before bowing quickly. "I-it's an honor to meet you!"

"Please, please, I'm retired. Call me Old Man Kuang," he smiled. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Hunter of the year, here set a trap for us, but Mavis and Tim got caught in it instead," Drago explained.

"It was a Ru Kou demon trap," Mala added.

"A Ru Kou demon trap? Oh dear, young man, what were you thinking?" Kuang asked Remington.

"I'm a demon hunter, Master Kuang, it's what we do! I was just-Ow!" Remington flinched as Kuang whacked him over the head.

"You are a skilled demon hunter from the Ryder Clan, but you have the immaturity and recklessness of a child! Anyone could have gotten caught in your trap and you neglected to consider the fact that you could - and ended up - endangering innocent lives! Now, you get in there and help make this right! Mala will know what to do; she's got the brilliant mind of a wonderful Chi Wizard, just like her father and my favourite student, Jasper."

"Wait, Jasper? As in, Jasper Reid? The one who banished the Crystal Demon Sorceress Lang Yan? Mala is his…" Remington's sentence slowed as he came to a sudden realization, "Jasper Reid was your father. You are half-human."

"Like I've been saying all this time," Mala said.

"So everything you've been saying is true then? God, what have I done?" he fretted.

"You can feel guilty after we rescue Mavis and Tim!" Mala insisted as she opened a large book and began gathering ingredients.

* * *

><p>"Ugh, where are we?" Tim groaned, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. He quickly grabbed his left side with his right hand and inhaled slowly. His entire body felt sore, like he had just fallen over a hundred feet from the sky and landed on the hardest surface he could imagine. "M-Mavis?" he called out meekly.<p>

"Yeah, I'm here," she moaned, getting up herself. "What the hell was that?"

"Well, I've got one guess: it must have been a trap. That orb must have been a spell designed to emit a magical signature like the one the Coins do to draw us in. The only other question now is: where the heck are we?" Tim asked, as they looked around, taking in dark skye and floating rocks around them.

"Wait… floating rocks, dark and blank looking sky, smell of death in the air," Mavis said, counting off each feature of where they were on her fingertips.

"Smell of death? How exactly do you know what death smells like?" Tim asked. But before Mavis answered his question, she pulled him behind a large rock. She shushed him quietly before they both noticed a large winged shadow fly over them with a great roar.

"Annnnd demons. Yeah, this is definitely the Demon Netherworld. Liam goes on and on about how much better the human world is compared to it and now that I'm seeing it with my own eyes, I don't blame him!" Mavis exclaimed.

"If that trap brought us here, then it probably wasn't meant for us. It must have been that hunter who set it then. He was hoping to draw in Linos, Mala and Drago and send them here!" Tim realized.

"So what do we do now?" Mavis asked. "It's not like we have the home field advantage here."

"Once the other realize what's happened, they'll find a way to save us. We'll just have to hold out until they can get to us," Tim said. They quickly ducked back behind the rock when the large, winged demon flew over them again.

"And what if they don't?" Mavis asked meekly, her eyes wide in fear.

"Hmmmm… what's this? I smell… humans!" hissed a sinister, eerie voice. Tim and Mavis quickly ducked under a large curved, rock as the shadow it cast hid them from open view. They pressed their backs as far into the rocks as they could and tucked their knees tightly into there chests, careful to not let even their toes be seen. They heard the creature come closer as the dirt and pebbles were crushed under what Tim and Mavis assumed to be its large claws. "Mmm, so young and a female!" they heard it sniff he air before making a loud, wet slurping sound as Mavis whimpered quietly.

"You're out of your territory, Hsi Wu!" declared another sinister voice, this time female.

"You! How dare you speak that way to me! I am Hsi Wu, Demon Sorcerer of the Sky!" Hsi Wu proclaimed loudly with arrogance and pride.

"And what exactly is your power, little Sky Demon? Does the sky here look like anything bountiful or powerful enough for you to draw your power from? What are you without your larger siblings to cower behind, little lizard?" the woman taunted with a low growl. "Perhaps you would like to see what I do to those who trespass on my domain! Do you wish to suffer the same fate as Tzan Ren?"

"Y-you're lucky I'm alone, Lang Yan! If my siblings were here, we'd teach a half-breed bearing wench like you a lesson!" Hsi Wu wailed as he flew off, his wings beating loudly as he went before it became silent again. Mavis and Tim kept as quiet as they could until they could be sure this second demon had gone, when instead, she announced, "You can come out now. I'm not going to eat you. Unlike the other demons of this world, I never got the taste for human flesh." Mavis and Tim exchanged worried and uncertain looks before cautiously crawling out from their hiding space. "There now, see? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Tim and Mavis looked up at the rock above them to see a tall, slender woman with blue skin, white hair and large red eyes casually sitting with one leg crossed over the other. In her hands, she held a large, light blue orb and she wore armor that looked exactly like Mala's, with some minor aesthetic differences.

"Hey…you look just like," Tim started, before Mavis suddenly whipped out a sword and pointed it at the demon.

"Don't come any closer! I've got this cool looking sword and I know how to use it!" Mavis declared loudly.

"Isn't that the sword you took from the hunter?" Tim asked.

"Yes, yes it is."

"Oh, put that away before you hurt yourself my dear. I know for a fact that you've never held a real blade before."

"How did you-" Mavis began asking.

"Mavis Teaghan Callahan and Timothy Alistair Knight," Lang Yan started.

"God I hate that middle name…" Mavis muttered.

"You two are an awfully long way from home, aren't you?" Lang Yan asked.

"Well, you see, we-" Tim started to explain.

"Fell into a trap set by the demon hunter Remington Ryder that was actually meant for the demon members of your group? And now you're here, in the Demon Netherworld, with no way back home."

"Are you reading our minds?" Mavis whispered with wide eyes.

"Don't be foolish. I know everything that has, is and will happen through this," Lang Yan replied, holding up her crystal ball.

"Oh, crystal-gazing!" Tim realized.

"You mean like those wacky fortune tellers? Tim, you know that stuff is just a bunch of hokum!"

"Really, Mavis? You want to talk about what's hokum right now?" Tim asked.

"Hm, fair point. So, big scary demon lady, I can't help but notice that you bear quite a resemblance to my best friend."

"I'm not surprised. Mala is my daughter, after all," Lang Yan replied.

"Your daughter? Then, that means you're Lana Reid!" Tim exclaimed.

"'Lana' was the name I chose when I took human form, much like how Linos chose the name 'Liam'. But, you may call me Lang Yan."

"So, if you're not going to eat us… what are you going to do?" Tim asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to send you two back where you belong! Two adorable little humans like you wouldn't survive long here in this world. Besides, you're friends will need you if they are to survive the coming dangers."

"Dangers? What are you talking about?" Tim asked.

"Ah ah ah, a demon doesn't kiss and tell," Lang Yan teased, giving the boy a sly wink.

"Yeah Tim, don't you know anything about knowing too much about the future?" Mavis interjected.

"You're very perceptive, Miss Callahan. Knowing too much about what is to come can drastically alter the course of reality. But I have seen all that is to come and you will all be fine in the end," Lang Yan stated, rubbing her crystal ball while staring into it.

"Why should we trust you? How do we know that you won't just eat us after you say you'll help us?" Tim asked.

"Heh, what other options do you have? By all means, if you wish to, wander around on your own. Would you like me to see how far you get before another demon finds you? Whereas, if you accept my offer of help, which I strongly suggest you do, I can guarantee your return to your friends, who, as I speak, are currently working to open a portal to this world to rescue you. So, what say you?"

"What do you think, Tim? Should we trust her?" Mavis asked.

"I dunno, the parents of the demons in our circle of friends aren't exactly known for being trustworthy. We already heard a lot of Shen Du, and I don't think we need to revisit the Tzan Ren debacle."

"Ah yes, old Tzan Ren. He was a being doomed for failure, so stubborn and closed-minded. He could never see the obvious even when it was right in front of him. In this world, we must be willing to accept new ideals and new powers if we are to grow. Tzan Ren would not; he clung to past and traditional values of human hatred, unwilling to move forward. The world was moving ahead, but he was not," Lang Yan said, pointing to a pile of crystals scattered about. Among the rubble, Tim and Mavis could recognized the horned face of the same demon that had terrorized them earlier that year.

"Tzan Ren…" they whispered simultaneously.

"Do I have your faith now?" Lang Yan asked, tapping her foot.

"You did this?" Mavis asked.

"Yes. Just after your combined efforts with his son landed him back here, I confronted him. We talked, we fought, but in the end, he fell to the hand of a superior warrior. Now, if we're done dilly-dallying, we must be off. It is a long distance to where your friends will be emerging," Lang Yan said, suddenly shifting into a large blue wolf, still with white hair, red eyes and crystal armor. "Well? Come on now!" she urged, motioning for them to climb onto her back.

"Shotgun!" Mavis exclaimed, eagerly climbing onto Lang Yan's back as Tim hesitantly followed and took the spot right behind her.

"Mavis, aren't you the least bit concerned about this?" Tim asked.

"Ugh, no! She killed the demon that practically traumatized me! That puts her in my good books!"

"You will want to hang on tightly; we will be traveling very fast," Lang Yan cautioned, before taking off with a burst of speed, leaping from floating platform to platform.

"So, if you're like one of the Demon Sorcerers, why can't you just open up your portal to the human world?" asked Tim.

"My portal has already been used. When Demon Sorcerers are banished, it is by a combination of a Chi Wizard and an object of great power. My husband, Jasper, used a necklace he gave me, which he then gave to Mala after he placed a protective counter spell on it to prevent a Chi Wizard from draining her Chi. Earlier this summer, that counter spell was activated and the necklace was destroyed, which weakened its hold on my portal, allowing for one to pass through," Lang Yan began explaining.

"But you didn't take it?" Mavis asked.

"My time will come. After Drago's defeat in the human world, he was banished here alongside his father. I allowed Drago the use of my portal to return to Earth so he could atone for his mistakes and earn Mala's forgiveness."

"You just let him use it?" Tim asked.

"No, of course not. I needed to know Drago was serious about turning over a new leaf, so I gave him the impression that he would have to fight me for it. I already knew he would be the one to go through the portal anyway." After a few minutes of travel, Lang Yan came to a stop. Mavis and Tim climbed off her back as Lang Yan resumed her humanoid form. "It is nearly time. The portal will open soon and when it does, demons will come flooding towards it."

"Why?" Mavis asked.

"We demons hate our own world. It is dismal, dreary and honestly, would you want to live here?" Lang Yan asked, as Tim and Mavis both shook their heads. "Exactly. That is why we demons are so desperate to enter your world. It is bright and beautiful and everything is significantly better once you get there. Everything I had on Earth, I could never have gotten here," she lamented. "But that is not important. Keep heading towards that large pillar in the distance. I shall hold off the hordes when they come."

* * *

><p>"I still don't see why you had to pull my scales off so rough like that," Drago groaned.<p>

"Don't be such a baby. Besides, I needed a stabilizing agent. Dragon scales will ensure that the portal stays open as long as possible for us to get Tim and Mavis back," Mala answered. "This is the place?" she asked Liam.

"Yeah. I used to crash in this factory before I moved into the clock tower to be closer to the school and Tim and Mavis' places. The owner went bankrupt a couple years back and the facility was just abandoned. We should get any visitors here," Liam explained.

"Good, you two do a sweep of the premises to make sure we don't get any intruders. Remington, help me set up the spell," Mala said.

"Mala… are you sure?" Drago asked, unsure of leaving her alone with the hunter.

"I can handle myself," she assured him.

When Drago and Liam exited the building, Remington spoke up. "You stopped him from trying to kill me, why?"

"Liam? I stopped him because I know it wouldn't have solved anything. You're more useful to us alive then you are dead."

"And how do you know I won't betray you all and strike you down now?" he asked.

"Because I'm betting that as a demon hunter, you've sworn yourself to protect humans from magical and demonic threats. So, it must be killing your conscious to know that your endeavours against us have only endangered humans more than protected them. I guess you could say that part of me still has faith that you'll come around," she explained, as the two of them set up the area.

"But why? All I've done is hunt you down tried to kill you all!"

"I guess that's part of being human: having faith in other people. Look Remington, I don't care if after this is done, you go back to hunting us. I just want to get Tim and Mavis back safely. Can you put aside your prejudices until then?" she asked.

"…Very well," he answered after hesitating. "You make a compelling argument, Mala."

"The place is clear. We're the only ones around," said Liam as he and Drago entered the building.

"Good. We're done setting up here. When the portal opens, I'll have to stay in one place so I can focus all my energy on keeping the portal open. The rest of you head in and find our friends."

"I'm staying here," Drago declared.

"What? Why?" Liam asked.

"As soon as that portal opens, demons will know and come flooding. If they make it through and attack Mala, we loose our door. I'll stay here and protect her."

"I don't need your protection," she insisted.

"No, he's right Mala. You're the only thing keeping the portal open. We lose you, then we're all done for," Liam said.

"Fine, stand back," she said, stepping in the circle that lit up beneath her feet, connecting the six pots filled with the ingredients she and Remington had set up. She sat in the middle with her legs crossed before muttering the spell quietly. The pots began glowing brightly, as sparks of green energy shot up towards the ceiling, collecting together into one brilliant beam of light that shot into the floor in front of them. From there, a large green gate and red swirling vortex rose up.

"All right, it's now or never. Looks like you're with me, hunter," Liam said, transforming into his demon form as large, swirling shadows surrounded him. "I hope you can handle yourself."

"I know how to fight demons," Remington answered confidently.

"Maybe, but you've never fought in the Demon Netherworld before. Watch your back."

"So long as you watch yours." Without another word, the two stepped into the portal, entering the bleak Demon Netherworld. They came out onto a floating rock platform, surrounded by many more that spammed into the distance in all directions. "So, where do we start?" Remington asked, readying his katana.

"I'm picking up a human scent. It's faint, but it's coming from over there," Linos pointed off into the distance.

"How do you know it's them?" Remington asked.

"In the Demon Netherworld, we don't have anything that smells nice, not even a flower or anything. The scent I'm picking up is strawberries; Mavis always smells like strawberries," Linos quickly added before turning away to hide the blush forming across his cheeks. "Look out!" Linos shouted. He waved his arms, sending two shadow tendrils at a pair of little demons right behind Remington, who quickly turned around just in time to see Linos' tendrils destroy them.

"Thanks…" he muttered. All of a sudden, he whipped out three throwing knives towards Linos. He quickly ducked, allowing the knives to strike three more little demons behind him. As he stood back up, Linos turned his head to Remington.

"Thanks," he repeated. "Anyway, come on," he said, holding out his hand. Remington looked at the hand Linos offered before turning his gaze towards Linos' face in confusion. "Would you rather walk? Because we'll get there in half the time if I fly us there," he argued.

"Very well," Remington complied, taking Linos' hand with his empty one. With a beat of his large wings, Linos took off into the sky, as Remington struggled to maintain his balance.

"Having fun? Don't worry, you get used to it!" Linos assured him. He lifted Remington up higher by his hand before securely holding Remington by his upper arms.

"Hey, what's that?" Remington asked after nearly two minutes of straight flying while pointing straight ahead.

Linos narrowed his eyes and noticed two small figures carefully jumping from rock platform to rock platform. "Strawberries… and peppermint. That's definitely Mavis and Tim!" Without another thought, Linos zoomed towards them through the sky and landed on the platform right in front of their friends.

"LINOS!" Mavis shouted with a wide smile on her face. She leapt from the platform she and Tim were on right towards Linos, who instinctively held out his arms to catch her. He felt her body collide with his as her arms wrapped securely around his neck while his wrapped around her waist. When he set her down, Mavis beamed, "You came to rescue us! Just like she said you would!"

"She? Who?" Remington asked.

"Oh great, it's you! You know it's your fault we're in the mess right?" Mavis asked.

"Ok, yeah I'm sure he feels guilty, can we please get out of here now!" Tim pleaded, joining up with them.

"Wait, who said we'd be here to rescue you?" Linos asked.

"Mala's mom, Lang Yan! She brought us here after she drove away some demon called Hsi Wu. She's holding off a shit-ton of demons from following us. See?" Mavis pointed back towards the direction she and Tim came from. Linos and Remington narrowed their eyes and saw a tall, brightly colored figure in the distance repelling hordes of demons with crystals.

"I'll be damned. A demon helping humans escape the Netherworld…and here I thought I'd seen everything," Remington whispered, almost not believing what he was seeing.

"Well, now you've seen everything, huh Remington?" Linos chuckled.

"And it was a good thing she came along too! I don't know how many demons I could bluff my way through with this!" Mavis exclaimed, pulling out Remington's collapsible Jian sword.

"I believe that belongs to me!" Remington swiped his Jian from Mavis' hands, earning a large pout from the girl as he stowed away his katana and retook his primary weapon.

"So what is he like our new best friend or something?" Mavis asked.

"We've agreed to a temporary ceasefire," Linos answered.

"Oh good, then let's blow this popsicle stand… and then get some actual popsicles because I am starving!" Mavis exclaimed.

"Wow, she really has her priorities sorted out, doesn't she?" Remington asked.

"Yeah, that's my Mavis," Linos grinned as Remington turned to him. "Uh, not that she's 'mine' or anything, uh… shut up!"

"I don't think Lang Yan will be able to hold off all those demons for long!" Tim shouted.

"Then we better get moving." Linos grabbed Tim and Mavis, wrapping each of his arms around their waists before flapping his wings. He hovered over the ground before grabbing Remington's shoulders with his taloned feet.

"Come on, hurry up!" Mavis shouted, as they drew closer to the portal.

"I'm going as fast as I can! Three humans are heavier than you think, Mavis!" Linos barked back. All of a sudden, a little winged minion caught up to them and sunk its sharp fangs into Linos' ankle. Linos howled in pain and instinctively released his grip on Remington's shoulders, causing him to fall to a rock platform below. Linos just managed to glide the rest of the way to the portal, though he slid into a crash, releasing his grip on Mavis and Tim, who rolled alongside him. All three of them groaned in pain before pushing themselves off the ground. "Get to the portal!" Linos shouted as Tim and Mavis nodded before taking off towards the portal without an objection. Linos whipped his head around and caught sight of Remington a few platforms away slicing his sword at the demons that attacked him.

Remington slashed a minion in front of him before throwing two daggers at another duo that tried sneaking up behind him. However, he was too late to notice the larger demon minion charging towards him. It struck him right in the chest, knocking him back and over the edge of the platform. He screamed as he fell, but suddenly felt something tightly grip his ankle and pull him up. He felt his body flailing as the creature that grabbed him flew up higher and higher. He caught sight of the minions he was fighting taking off after him before raising his head up to get a look at what had saved him. Just as he raised his head, Linos lowered his as their eyes met and they exchanged grins.

As fast as his large wings could carry them, Linos flapped as hard as he could as they got closer and closer to the portal. Once they passed through, the crashed onto the cold, dirty floor of the abandoned factory and rolled to a stop.

"They're through!" Drago shouted.

Mala, hearing Drago's confirmation, raised her arms and closed the portals. The gateway sunk back into the ground and the light from the spell circle faded. Mala nearly fell back, but held herself up with her arms. Drago moved over to her quickly and held out his hand. Mala looked at his hesitantly before accepting it as he pulled her back up into a standing position. Her hand lingered in his for a moment as their eyes locked tenderly before Mala dashed off to Mavis crying her name.

"Are you guys ok?" Mala asked, hugging her best friend tightly.

"Yeah, we're both in one piece!" Mavis assured her. "And you'll never believe who helped us!"

"Who?" Mala asked.

"Your mom!" Mavis exclaimed, causing Mala to pull back slightly.

"M-my mother? Lang Yan? Sh-she helped you?" Mala asked, confused. "Why would she do something like that? No offence, I'm glad you two are ok, but it just doesn't sound like something she would do."

"Yeah, it didn't make much sense to us either, but she did save us from Hsi Wu," said Tim.

"Hsi Wu? That's my uncle," Drago said.

"Sorry, but I'm just having a hard time believing this," Mala added. "Why would she save two humans from Hsi Wu and then help then escape the Netherworld?"

"Yeah, we asked her that too, but she never really gave us a straightforward answer. She was very cryptic with her words," Mavis replied.

"Yeah, that sounds like her," said Mala.

"You came back for me," Remington said.

"You sound surprised?" Linos asked.

"Because I am. I would have expected you to leave me behind."

"Like any other demon?" asked Linos, causing Remington to cast his eyes downward in shame. "Maybe not all demons are the same. You should start considering that, Remington."

"Perhaps… I do not know everything about demons like I thought I did."

* * *

><p>Kuang finished cleaning up his shop for the end of the day before he moved into the back workshop. "Ah, what fascinating artifacts these Coins are," he mused, examining the ten Coins that Mala and her friends had gathered. He had been curious about getting a closer look at them and was able to convince them to leave the Coins with him for the night. When he heard the bell of store's door chime, he made his way back to the front desk. "I'm so sorry, but we are closed for the evening," he said politely.<p>

"Oh, don't mind me, I'll be out of your hair in just a second," cackled Daolon Wong as he raised his dark, glowing staff at Kuang.

* * *

><p><strong>Uh oh! Kuang's in trouble! But at least Tim and Mavis are safe ^_^ And hm... why did Lang Yan help humans? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter people, because if you're just saying generic things like "that was cool" or "I liked it" and nothing more then as far as I'm concerned, you didn't even read it. Only 2 chapters to go!<strong>

**Next chapter: Daolon Wong has seized all 13 Coins and it's up to the Shadow Strikers to stop him from taking over the world!**


	16. Shadow Strikers

**Thought I'd pump out another chapter just before my summer classes start, though they shouldn't end up taking too much of my time ^_^**

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe that my mother actually helped you two escape from the Netherworld!" Mala exclaimed.<p>

"Neither could we at first, but at the time it was either accept her offer or take a chance in the Netherworld ourselves and probably die," Tim responded.

"Probably? We absolutely would have died if she didn't help us!" Mavis added.

"But why would she help you? A Demon Sorcerer doesn't do anything unless there's something in it for them."

"It does leave a lot unanswered. What could she gain from helping two humans? She could have just as easily abandoned Tim and Mavis and used the portal herself," Liam added.

"Well, let's just be glad that she showed up when she did. I do not want to know what Hsi Wu would have done if she didn't scare him off," Mavis shuddered.

"Yeah, I'd honestly take your mother over anyone from my family any day," Drago said to Mala. "Technically, this is the second time she's had a chance for a ticket back to Earth. The reason I got back here was because of her, though I actually had to fight her for it."

"You know, she actually brought it up when she was helping us. But she mentioned that she knew you were going to be the one to go through, not her," said Tim.

"Wait... then why did she make me fight her for it if she was just going to let me use it anyway?" Drago asked, confused.

"Hm, there could be a method to her madness. Maybe she wanted to know just how badly you wanted to come back here so she made you think you had to fight her for it," Liam said.

"Yeah, that's exactly what she said!" Mavis interjected.

To say that this information wasn't enlightening to Mala would be an understatement. She remembered Drago had mentioned earlier after he tracked her down that it was because of Lang Yan that he was able to make it back, but she didn't believe it. But now, with hearing Tim and Mavis essentially validate his claims, Mala had no other choice but to reevaluate what she knew about the situation. It wasn't so much the fact that Lang Yan helped her friends that rubbed her the wrong way. She was far more concerned with why. Why did Lang Yan trick Drago into fighting her for her portal when she was going to give it to him anyway? Why did she help Tim and Mavis escape from the Demon Netherworld? If she knew her mother, she knew that Lang Yan was cunning and never did anything without a reason. So why offer up a chance to get back to the human world - twice! - to help someone else? She ran the thoughts over and over again in her head, but couldn't come up with a logical reason for her mother's actions. Before she could put another thought into this, Tim's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Hey, look!" Tim shouted, pointing to Kuang's shop down the block. When she got to the front of the store, they noticed broken windows, shattered products and knocked over displays. The place was a mess! The interior looked like a no holds barred fight had broken out, with the participants lacking any shred of care for what they broke or knocked over.

"What happened?" Mavis whispered.

"Damn, this looks almost as bad as the school when we tore through it," Liam said to Mala as he examined the damage.

"Yeah, that's a fond memory right there," she replied sarcastically.

"Kuang, are you okay? What happened to the store?" Tim asked when they saw Kuang quietly come out from the back workshop.

"Oh kids, I'm so sorry. That Dark Chi Wizard, Daolon Wong came while you were all away. I tried my best to fend him off, but I'm afraid I'm just not the Chi Wizard I used to be. He made off with the Coins, all of them!" he lamented with guilt.

"Daolon Wong has all the Coins? This is bad news, real bad news!" Mavis cried.

"Kuang, are you sure you're not hurt?" Mala asked, helping Kuang find a comfortable seat.

"Yes, yes, I'll be all right," he assured her. "But you must act quickly; there's no telling what Daolon Wong will do now that he has all thirteen Coins!"

"This is just great! All that work and Wong gets all the Coins in the end!" Drago shouted in annoyance.

"Eh, I'm not surprised. This sort of thing happens in cartoons all the time, especially around season finales," Mavis said casually.

Everyone turned their heads towards the front of the store when they heard the sound of glass cracking. Remington stood across from them and lifted his shoe to see the glass he had stepped on before carefully stepping over the rest of the debris. "Remington, what are you doing here?" Mala asked.

"I, uh, thought I'd check in on you all. I know I've caused you all a lot of trouble and I wanted to apologize for my trap getting out of hand the other day. I never intended for the two of you to get caught in it," he insisted to Mavis and Tim. "And I know that doesn't excuse what I did. Look, I'm not really sure how to do this; I'm going through a lot right now. Let me start over," he rambled. "All my life, I grew up training to fight demons, to carry on the Ryder family legacy. After I lost my parents, this was all I had. They never taught me that demons could be different, and I never thought to consider it a possibility. It's just... hard to come to terms with the fact that everything my parents taught me was wrong. I don't really know what to do now."

The five of them all exchanged looks as the hunter who had been relentlessly pursuing them stood before them offering his apologies. "Well," Liam started, "maybe don't think of it as your parents being wrong about everything. Maybe they just weren't completely right about everything they taught you." Liam walked up to Remington and hesitantly placed a consoling hand on the hunter's shoulder.

"I think Liam is right, young man," Kuang spoke up, pushing himself out of his seat. "Parents are not perfect, but they do the best they can with what they know. I have a son of my own who is long grown up now, but I know I wasn't the perfect father. I made mistakes and I messed up, but nobody is perfect. It is up to you as your parents' child to take what they've taught you and combine it with what you've learned," Kuang continued, lightly tapping Remington's chest with his index finger, "so that you may pass on that new knowledge to your children some day. So tell me, young hunter, what have you learned about demons?"

"I..." Remington started, glancing at Liam, Mala and Drago as he compiled his thoughts. "I've learned that they aren't all the same, that an individual shouldn't be judged by their species. I've learned that demons are as capable of compassion, friendship... and love," his gaze lingered on Mala and Drago, who exchanged a quick glance with each other before turning away to hide their growing blushes, "as much as humans are capable of great atrocities."

"Yeah and my high school history textbook will tell you all about that, if I can find it," Mavis muttered.

"You lost it again? Mavis, that's the third copy the school's made you pay for!" Tim scolded in a disappointing tone of voice.

"Well I'm sorry, but that book is sooooo boring!" Mavis complained.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" Mala asked.

"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'd like to make it up to you all. In a way, it's my fault this Daolon Wong got away with your Coins so I'd like to help you get them back."

"You want to help us?" Drago asked.

"If you'll have me."

The five of them turned around and began discussing the prospect. "So, we've got a former demon hunter who tried to kill three of us, critically injured two of us and put two others in mortal danger asking to join us. Thoughts?" Tim asked.

"How do we know we can trust him? This could just be a ploy on his part," Drago added.

"That's true, but that's something he'd expect us to do, wouldn't he? I've been trying to get through to him for a while now and I think he's finally come around," Mala said, "Plus giving him a chance to prove himself would show him that we're not like the other demons he hunts."

"So what you're saying is, you want to give this guy a chance to prove that he's changed despite all the bad stuff he's done to us? Do you see the irony here?" Liam asked Mala.

She glanced over to Drago, who said nothing to Liam's question, before turning back to Liam and saying, "We are not getting into that right now."

"Oh come on, let's give him a chance! This is a classic redemption story. A guy who we thought was our enemy ends up becoming one of our best friends!" Mavis exclaimed. "Besides, with him the group returns to an even ratio of humans and demons."

"That's your argument? You want him to join our group so there can be three humans for the three demons in our group and because it'll be cool?" Tim asked, cocking his eyebrow in confusion.

"Was that not clear?" she asked.

"Ok look, I think we've gotten through to him and we should give him a chance," Mala said again. "You said so yourself Liam that you could have just left him in the Demon Netherworld, but you went back for him."

"All right, all right," he conceded, "We'll give him a chance, one chance." The turned back around to face Remington, who waited their decision calmly. "All right, Remington, you've got yourself a shot."

"Now that that's out of the way, how are we going to find Daolon Wong?" Mavis asked.

"I might have something for that actually," Remington said, walking over to the counter. He pulled out a map of the city from one of his pouches and unwrapped it over the counter, pressing his palms on the folds to flatten it out. "This morning I did a regular scan of the city for any spikes in magical energy. It was, uh, something I did every day while I was trying to track you three down. Anyway, while I was doing the spell this morning, I noticed a sudden spike in magical energy right about here," he said, pointing to a spot near the middle of the map.

"That's practically the middle of the city! Why would Daolon Wong pick such a populated area to hide?" Liam asked.

"That's what I thought at first, but I did some research and found out there's an old sewage tunnel that runs through the area and connects to a larger underground conduit," Remington explained.

"Underground sewers, classic," Mavis smirked.

"If Daolon Wong has all the thirteen Coins, he will most likely be preparing to absorb all their powers into his body," Kuang explained.

"Why would he go through all the trouble for that?" Tim asked.

"Because if he absorbs the Coins' powers, they'll become a part of him permanently. He won't have to rely on the actual objects anymore when he can have their powers at his direct disposal," Mala explained.

"Right, right, I think I remember reading something about that in one of your books. But for a spell that big, he'd need a large space to conduct the magic and absorbing the powers of thirteen different Coins is going to take some time," said Tim.

"Which makes an abandoned underground sewer conduit seem like the perfect place to set up," Drago added.

"So, what's the plan then?" Mavis asked.

"May I?" Remington asked. When everyone nodded, he continued speaking. "There's multiple entrances leading towards the central conduit. I suggest we break off into two groups: one to draw Daolon Wong's attention and the other to secure the Coins while he's distracted. We won't have to worry about stopping his spell if we can just get the Coins away from him."

"That sounds good to me. Drago, Mala and Tim will draw Wong's attention. Mala, your constructs can keep him distracted and Drago and Tim can handle any crowd control. The rest of us will come through the opposite entrance and strike from the shadows," Liam explained, mapping out their plan of attack.

"We'll have to be careful, though. Daolon Wong is a master of Dark Chi Wizardy and he's got all thirteen Coins at his disposal. We're talking ice powers, shields, immortality, healing!" Mala listed.

"Then it won't be easy. You sure you're up for it, hunter?" Liam asked.

"Absolutely," Remington answered without hesitation, "evil is evil and it's a Ryder hunter's job to protect the innocent from evil, demon or not."

"Good to hear. But if you get hurt, just make sure not to bleed on any of us," Drago cautioned with a narrow glare.

"I'll try not to get any of it on you," Remington replied.

"Aw yeah, I knew this was gonna be awesome, way better than Operation: Through the Abyss!" Mavis exclaimed.

"Operation?" Remington asked, confused.

"Mavis likes to give names to the missions we go on. 'Through the Abyss' is what she's calling when we saved them from the Netherworld," Mala explained.

"Ah, I see... I think."

"And guys, I know I've been struggling figuring out a team name and it's been killing you that we don't have one yet," Mavis started

"No, it hasn't," Liam said.

"Yeah, we literally could not care less about having a team name," Tim insisted.

"Nevertheless," Mavis continued, pretending like she didn't hear Liam and Tim's protests, "I think I've finally come up with the perfect team name: Shadow Strikers," she grinned.

"Why Shadow Strikers?" Drago asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Hot shot! It was actually what Liam just said earlier: 'strike from the shadows'. Those gears in my head started turning and out came Shadow Strikers! Well? What do you guys think?"

Everyone remained silent, simply staring at Mavis who looked at them with wide eyes in eager anticipation. "Well, I think it sounds... cool," Remington said.

"Good answer, Remy!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arm around his shoulder.

"Well, if this means an end to all the time you've dedicated to coming up with a team name instead of doing your homework, then I'm all for it," Tim sighed.

"Excellent! Now that that order of business is concluded, let's kick Daolon Wong's butt and save the world!" Mavis loudly declared. She put out her hand and waited for the others to put their hands over hers. "Well, come on!" she insisted.

"You can still get out while you can, Remy," Mala chuckled.

"Nope, too late! His hand's in! He's part of the group now! Haha!" Mavis cheered. "All right, let's go, Shadow Strikers!"

* * *

><p>"Ok, just got a text from Tim. They're ready to move in," Mavis said, looking at her phone.<p>

"Once they give the signal, we'll move in for Wong," Linos said.

"Wait, what signal?" Remy asked, confused. Before either Mavis or Linos could provide him some clarity, they heard a loud explosion ring out on the other side of the tunnel. "Oh, simple," he commented.

"Ok, Mala, Drago and Tim are going to draw Wong's attention. Remy, you and I will sneak up to Wong and get the Coins from him before he can absorb their power," Linos explained as Remy nodded.

"Great, what do I do?" Mavis asked.

"Stay here," Linos answered.

"Come again for Callahan?"

"Mavis, please don't take this personally, but you don't exactly have any..." Linos began trailing off, trying to find the words without insulting Mavis in the process.

"Any kick ass powers or fighting skills like the rest of you? It's ok, you can come out and say it. I'm a big girl!" she insisted.

"I-it's nothing personal, Mavis, but without any Coins to back you up..." Linos stammered.

"You're more of a liability right now. You're better off staying on the sidelines for this one," Remy chimed in.

"Fine! I'll stay here and stay out of your way!" Mavis conceded begrudgingly, crossing her arms and pouting her lips.

"Looks, Mavis, it's just that we-" Linos started.

"Oh shush, just go save the world already!" Mavis insisted, giving Linos a relatively forceful shove. Linos' gaze lingered on Mavis, a twinge of guilt coursing through him before he continued down the tunnel with Remy.

"It's better this way," Remy said, trying to console Linos, "she'd only end up getting in the way or getting hurt. At least this way, she's safe."

"Yeah, but that doesn't exactly make me feel better right now," Linos responded. When the pair came to the large conduit, they spotted Daolon Wong floating in the center of the room while Mala, Drago and Tim stood on the opposite end. Mala had erected crystal walls as barriers for them to hide behind while Drago and Tim both launched fireballs and Chi spells at Wong. However, Wong raised his hand as a circular shield formed around him, repelling all the oncoming attacks.

"I'll move up, cover me!" Remy whispered. Linos nodded as Remy carefully snuck his way behind Wong, careful not to make a sound with his footsteps. He narrowed his eyes at Wong when he got closer and was just able to make out the thin line of the shield still around him. 'I need to get that shield down...' He reached into his pouch and pulled out a stun grenade. Before he pulled the pin out, he signalled to the others, prompting them to duck behind cover as Remy tossed the grenade up to Wong.

"Ah!" A brilliant flash of light burst out from the grenade as Wong held up his arms to shield his old, withered eyes from the blinding light. His protective shield disappeared and when the light faded, Remy threw a bolas that wrapped around Wong's ankle. With a swift pull, Wong came crashing to the ground. Remy leaped over to strike the old Wizard with his sword, but Wong suddenly disappeared from below him as his sword hit the concrete floor.

"What the?"

"Hahaha, did you think I didn't know your plan? The Bat Coin grants me super hearing! I could hear you children coming and whispering your plans the entire time!" Wong cackled, suddenly appearing in the middle of the room.

"Shit! I forgot about that!" Linos cursed.

"I suppose I should thank you, young demon hunter. If you hadn't distracted these children, I wouldn't have been able to acquire all thirteen of these Coins. This world shall soon be mine! Once I absorb all the Coins, their powers will be mine forever! And the six of your shall be the first to experience my power!" Wong raised his arms as the thirteen Coins suddenly appeared around him with a flash. They formed a circle around him, each one lighting up faintly. One of the Coins flashed a bright red-orange color as copies of Daolon Wong suddenly appeared throughout the area, each one cackling together in an disturbing choir.

"Fox Coin!" Mala called out. "Drago, Linos, keep an eye out for the one with an aura!"

Remy slashed one of the Daolon Wong's in front of him, only for it to disappear with a single hit. "The copies are weak. There's so many of them that they're too unstable! One hit will take care of them!"

"Good to know! Everyone get behind something!" Mala shouted. She raised her hands and formed a large crystal ball floating high above the center of the room. The ball suddenly spiked and exploded, unleashing a hail of crystal shards all across the room, striking every Daolon Wong copy. "Did I get him?" she asked, looking around for any sign of Wong.

"No, you didn't!" Mala gasped in surprise and turned around as Daolon Wong suddenly appeared behind her. "I've grown rather tired of you in particular, my dear." Wong inhaled deeply and let out a sonic scream that struck Mala right in the chest. The force of the blast knocked her all the way across the room as she was roughly slammed into the wall.

"Mala!" Drago called out, rushing over to her. He reached his clawed hand to her arm tenderly, giving her a light shake. "Are you ok?"

"Ngh... yeah, I-I'm fine," she muttered weakly with a faint smile. She tried to get up, but winced painfully and fell back against the wall.

"Hey, hey, just stay here," Drago insisted, holding out his arms to stop her from getting up again should she try. "You'll be fine." Mala groaned and nodded her head weakly as her eyes slowly fluttered shut. Drago turned to Pearl, who stood over him and her master. "You keep her safe," he ordered before rushing off to rejoin the fight.

Linos swooped down from above, unleashing a sonic scream as Wong did the same. The sound waves canceled each other out as Linos continued on his flight path. He was about to tackle Wong to the ground until Wong effortlessly pushed him aside with strength from the Bear Coin. Wong turned when he heard Drago roaring behind him as the young dragon charged. "Hmph, foolish little child," Wong sneered. He raised his hand and fired a bright blue beam of ice from the Wolf Coin. The beam hit Drago right in the chest as ice began forming all around his body until he was entirely encased in ice. Wong smirked triumphantly at the sight of the young demon trapped within the ice, until he noticed an orange glow emanating from Drago's body. The ice shattered open as Drago jumped out of his icy prison, flames licking across his lips.

"You're not as smart as I thought you were, old man! I'm a fire demon!" Drago roared with pride. "You think a little ice can stop me?"

"Perhaps not, but this will-Ah!" Wong cried out as a Chi spell struck him in the back. He swiftly turned around to face his attacker with a vicious glare.

"Ah crap!" Tim squeaked. He immediately turned and ran when Wong unleashed wave after wave of dark spells. Tim narrowly managed to avoid them before being lifted up into the air by Linos.

"Nice shot, Tim!" he complimented.

"Thanks! Whoa, look out!" Tim pointed up above them as thick, dark storm clouds suddenly began forming. Lightning bolts shot out from the storm clouds as Linos desperately tried to avoid them before finally being shot down. He and Tim rolled onto the ground roughly as a large wall of ice suddenly materialized around them. Wong floated above them, a ray of dark energy coming from his hand that held Remy and Drago in an invisible grip. He tossed them into the ice corral he made with the Wolf Coin, trapping all five of them there.

"I wouldn't think about flying anywhere if I were you. I must say, I'm growing rather fond of this Dragon Coin. The ability to command the fiercest thunderstorm! If any of you try to move a muscle, I'll make sure you're electrocuted," he warned. "Now, witness the dawning of a new age as I absorb the power of the Coins into my body!" Wong cackled. He raised his arms triumphantly, gathering as much magical energy as he could. The Coins floating around him began spinning in a circle, creating a single stream of light around him.

"What do we do now?" Mala asked weakly, only slightly recovered from Wong's last attack on her.

"I'm out of ideas and he's got us pinned down!" Remy shouted.

"There's no point in trying anything. I can hear everything around us, even the tiniest whisper! In fact, I know you still have that other human girl around. As I speak she's trying to-"

"SNEAK ATTACK!" Mavis suddenly jumped out from behind Wong, her arms outstretched to tackle him to the ground, but he casually stepped to the side, causing her to fall straight into the ice pit below with her friends. "Owie..." she muttered, gripping her nose with both hands as she sat up on her knees.

"It's not a sneak attack if you announce it, Mavis," Tim chastised.

"Shut up, Knight," she muttered underneath her hands.

"Heh, you children are so pathetic. You think that because you have hope that you will win? Well, let me tell you something. Hope gets you nowhere, it is only with power that we can get what truly belongs to us!" Wong declared loudly.

"Oh yeah? Well you're forgetting about a very important member of our team, buster!"

"Oh, and who would that be?" Wong asked with a mix of curiosity and condescension.

"Phineas!"

"Phineas? What kind of name is tha-YEOUCH!" Wong suddenly shrieked at the top of his lungs in pain. The magical aura around him quickly faded and the Coins fell to the ground. Wong dropped his staff and tightly clutched his rear. "Ow, ow, ow!" he howled in pain.

"What's going on?" Remy asked.

"Who cares? Grab the Coins!" Linos shouted, pointing to the scattered Coins all around them.

Wong continued yipping in pain, hopping on one foot as he violently shook his body when suddenly Phineas fell out of his robes. "You wretched little pests! I'll destroy all of you!" Wong blasted a beam of dark energy at Phineas below him, only to discover a protective shield surrounding the little reptile. "Huh?"

One of Mala's crows suddenly swooped down, grabbing Phineas and dropping the bearded dragon into Mavis' outstretched hand. She tenderly placed him on her shoulder and rubbed his head, all while cooing, "Who's my little bearded dragon who saved the day?"

"You were saying?" Linos taunted, as he and the rest of them all stood with Coins in their hands pointed right at Wong, who simply gritted his teeth and glared at them, his face twitching in anger.

"I'd think carefully about your next move, if I were you," Remy added.

"Yeah, you don't want to make the Wong choice! Heh, get it?" Mavis asked, turning her head back slightly to address her friends.

"This isn't over!" Wong bellowed, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you running away!" Mavis shouted, but he was long gone.

"So... we won?" Tim asked, almost unsure.

"We won!" Mala affirmed.

"And who would have thought it would be all thanks to this little guy!" Linos smiled, holding Phineas in his hands.

"Yeah, I'm sure most of you thought that Phineas couldn't do much because he's small and doesn't have any cool powers of badass fighting skills of his own," Mavis smirked.

"Heh, you're right, Mavis. We-I," he corrected, "shouldn't have underestimated... Phineas like that."

"Apology accepted," Mavis smiled, knowing who he really meant to say that to.

* * *

><p>"Guys, I still can't get over yesterday. It's like we hit the luckiest break ever!" Tim exclaimed.<p>

"Eh, who cares? A win is a win!" Mavis scoffed. "Speaking of which, where's Remy? He should be celebrating with us!"

"I haven't heard from him," Mala said sadly. "But, we shouldn't let it go to our heads. Losing all thirteen Coins when he was that close to winning is going to leave Daolon Wong in a sour mood. We should keep our guard up in case he tries to attack us," Mala cautioned.

"Isn't that why we're keeping all the Coins on us now?" Liam asked.

"At least until we can devise a more secure way to keep them from Wong," Mala answered.

"Yeah and we can't keep them at Kuang's shop anymore. Wong already broke in there!" Mavis added. "But you know what? Screw Wong. If he comes after us, we'll just kick his butt again! He's outnumbered and outgunned against us! I say we take the time to celebrate!"

"Mavis..." Tim started.

"No, listen to me. We've worked hard this past semester collecting these Coins, fighting Wong and Remy and we deserve a night off to just let loose and get ka-razy."

"Well, the Winter Formal is still tomorrow," Drago pointed out.

"Excellent observation, Hot shot! And I can't believe I'm going to say this like this, but I still haven't gotten a dress yet! Come on, Mala, we've gotta hit the shops!" Mavis exclaimed dramatically, dragging Mala along with her as she took off down the streets.

* * *

><p><strong>Sometimes, even the simplest and most insignificant of creatures can secure victory :)<strong>

**Next chapter: The Shadow Strikers celebrate their victory at their school's Winter Formal, while Daolon Wong's attempt at revenge has disastrous consequences.**


	17. Who Let the Demons Out?

**To say that I got really in the mood for writing would be an understatement. Let's just say, when I'm stuck in a three hour class, I really really need a tiny distraction, you know something to do with my hands when I'm not typing out notes. And so, this was born literally out of tonight's class. Man, I wonder what I'll end up making in the next six weeks of class XD**

* * *

><p>"Well, that's everything," Tim said, lifting up the dustpan filled with dirt and debris for the last time. "Your store is officially cleaned up, Kuang!"<p>

"Oh, thank you boys! But you didn't have to clean up the store for me. My insurance would have covered it," Kuang smiled.

"We insisted! Besides, you had just tried to fight off a Dark Chi Wizard. You should be taking it easy for a bit," said Liam, putting aside the broom he was using.

"Well, I thank you boys for helping. Now you three should get ready for that Winter Formal. I'm sure Mala and Mavis are nearly ready."

"Nearly ready? They've been in the back getting ready for nearly two hours now! How long do two girls need to get ready for a dance?" Drago exclaimed.

"Come on, Drago, don't you know anything about girls? They take forever to get ready for things," Tim chuckled.

"Well, they better finish soon. Winter Formal starts in about forty-five minutes," Liam said, looking at the clock on the wall. The boys got into their tuxedos before the girls even came out from the back room. "What kind of dark magic is this?" Liam complained, fussing with the tie he tried to tie around his neck.

"It's a tie, Liam. It's not that hard," Tim said, coming over to help Liam with his tie.

"Show off," Liam muttered.

"Ah forget it, I'll just go without one!" Drago exclaimed, throwing his tie on the counter after struggling to tie it as well.

"One of these days, you'll both have to learn how to tie a tie," Tim said, flawlessly tying the bow tie around his neck.

"We're reaaaaadddyyyyyy," Mavis sang as the boys turned they attention to the back room's door. Mala and Mavis stepped out as boys stared at them in awe. Mavis wore her hair out of her usual pigtails and the ends her of hair were curled upward. She wore a strapless, bright magenta cocktail dress with a thick and poofy skirt and large bow. She also wore a pair of beige boots and a short-sleeved, black mini jacket. Mala had her hair pulled into a half bun and she wore a light purple gradient cocktail dress with a single strap on her left shoulder and white sandal heels. Mala's dress wasn't as poofy as Mavis', but there were little gemstones sewn in along the bust.

"Wow, you guys look great!" Liam exclaimed.

"We know how we look. It took a lot of work to get it this way," Mavis said with a smug grin. "Now come on, I wanna get some dancing in before these boots put my feet out of commission!"

"Wait, let me get a picture!" Kuang held up his camera as the five of them stood together. "Say cheese!" he said as he snapped his camera. "Excellent, now go have fun tonight! You certainly deserve after everything you've been through lately! Oh and Mala," Kuang said to her, "you look very beautiful. Your father would be so proud if he could see the strong and beautiful young woman you've grown into."

"Thank you, Kuang," Mala smiled, giving Kuang a light kiss on his cheek.

When they arrived at their school, they could already hear the pounding of the music echoing from the gymnasium. Bright and colourful balloons and streamers were placed around the gym's entrance and the path leading up to it while a large banner over the door read "Winter Formal" with snowflake decorations placed all around it.

"Man, the party planning committee really went all out with the decorations!" Mavis observed. "This is way better than last year's Winter Formal."

"Where's your tie?" Mala asked, noticing Drago's lack of one.

"Oh, I couldn't figure the damn thing out so I just didn't bother," he answered, causing Mala to giggle slightly.

"You can fight a Dark Chi Wizard, a demon hunter and a Demon Sorcerer, but you can't tie a tie?"

"Oooh, they have cupcakes!" Mavis exclaimed, eyeing the tray of cupcakes on one of the several tables set up for food before dashing off.

"Whoa, hey, look who's here," Liam said, pointing off to the side of the gym where they saw Remington, still dressed in his hunter gear, walking towards them. "You here for the party?"

"Uh, sort of. Mavis texted me and told me to 'get my butt over here for the best night of my damn life or she'd put a nest of angry hornets in my apartment'," Remy read out the text from his phone. "I don't even know how she got my number!"

"Yeah, that's sort of her superpower. I've just found its best not to question it," Tim explained.

"Well, you're here for the party, so let's party!" Liam exclaimed. "And we should catch up to Mavis. I'm pretty sure I just saw her inhale her fourth cupcake. Oh, shit… I think she's choking. Hang on, I'm coming Mavis!" Liam shouted, dashing into the gym.

"Actually, before we go in, could I talk to Mala privately?" Remy asked.

"Oh? Sure, yeah. You guys go ahead and… make sure Mavis doesn't overdose on cupcakes," Mala insisted as Tim and Drago went into the gym and left her with Remy. "So, is this the part where you reveal you're still actually hunting us and kill me?"

"Wh-what? No! I-" Remy stammered.

"Relax, I'm just screwing with you," Mala assured him.

"Oh."

"Anyway, what did you want to talk about?" Mala then noticed the large knapsack he had slung over his shoulder. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I just came to say goodbye. The whole reason I came here in the first place was to track you and Linos down, but I don't want to do that anymore. I figured I've done all I can here and the five of you have the city well protected from anything evil. There's nothing for me here anymore."

"Whoa, hold on," Mala said, grabbing his arm as he turned to walk away. "Are you sure you're not just leaving because, well you're scared to stay? Maybe because you're still feeling a little guilty?"

"That… might have something to do with it as well," he admitted. "I could see myself staying for the right reasons, but I honestly wouldn't expect you all to accept me into your circle after everything I did to you."

"You're not giving yourself enough credit, Remy. Sure, you've made some mistakes, did things you're not proud of, but you owned up to them. You tried and did make up for them. We've forgiven you."

"I guess I just haven't forgiven myself yet. I've done a lot of thinking since I met you all and I think if I didn't meet you guys, I'd probably be dead."

"Oh, you're exaggerating."

"No, I'm really not. I know myself and I know how stubborn and reckless I can get. If I didn't meet you all, I probably would've gotten myself killed going after some demon that was out of my league. I honestly believe that. So, I just wanted to say thank you, for everything," he said sincerely.

"Well, you're welcome. I'm glad I didn't give up on you."

"You should have, but I'm glad you didn't too," he smiled.

"For what it's worth, I really think you should stay. Something Mavis was going on about human to demon ratios of our group and how you would make it even?"

"Maybe I will stay," he pondered. "Kuang told me something the other day that I think really applies here: 'friends are harder to make and even harder to leave behind'."

"And you said so yourself, there's a lot you can learn from us. Kuang's a very smart man, isn't he?"

"He is," agreed Remy. "There's just something I wanted to ask about what you said just now."

"Hm?"

"You know I've done wrong, but you were more than willing to forgive me so easily. Why can't you do the same with Drago then?"

"How did you-" Mala began.

"Oh, that was another, very long text from Mavis. She felt it was necessary to fill me in on the group's dynamic and drama to prepare for my integration, as she put it. I mean no disrespect by it."

"No, it's fine," she assured him. "But what's going on between us is between me and Drago."

"Of course. Should we head inside? Your friends are probably wondering what's taking so long."

"Our friends," Mala corrected him. "You go on ahead. I'm still not used to being around so many people at once. I think I'll just stay out here for a bit until the party dies down."

"As you wish," Remy said, leaving her as he entered the gym.

Mala stood outside in silence, admiring the bright stars that lit up the night sky, before she heard footsteps behind her.

"Nice night, huh?" Drago asked, standing next to her.

"Haha, yeah, you almost wouldn't know it that just yesterday the entire world was this close to being taken over by a Dark Chi Wizard," she remarked. "Why aren't you inside?"

"I came out here to find you. Listen, Mala, I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I just want you to know that I'll always be here for you."

"Drago…"

"Please, let me finish. This isn't something I'm used to doing; you know, talking about my… feelings. My father always said it was weak. A-and if you want me gone, just say the word and I'll go. But if you let me stay, I will be there whenever you need me. I know I don't deserve forgiveness for what I did, tricking you and betraying you like that. And in that moment when I had everything I wanted, everything I thought I wanted, I realized all I really wanted was you. And I was such an idiot because I did have you! You were right there beside me the entire time and I was just too stupid and foolish to see it. And all I ended up doing was pushing you away. I've accepted that nothing I do can change the way you feel about me but I… I just want you to be happy even if it isn't with me."

Mala simply stood in silence as Drago poured his feelings out to her. In all the time she had known him, she never expected such a heartfelt speech to come from his mouth. "Wait, you think there's something going on between Remy and me?" she asked.

"Isn't there?"

"No! No, he's just a friend! That's it!" she assured him.

"Oh, well my point still stands. As much as I want to be with you, Mala, I want you to be happy more."

"Drago, I know I haven't exactly been hospitable to you since you showed up here, but I've done some thinking, a lot of thinking really, recently. Remy's done bad things to us, just as bad as or maybe even worse than what you did. While you tried to take over the world, he tried on several occasions to kill us and endangered our friends - ah, we'll get into that later. That's not important right now! What's important is that I was able to look past what Remy did and see the good in him. If I could do it with him, then why couldn't I start doing it with you?" Drago was about to say something, but he stayed quiet when Mala continued speaking. "I guess the reason for that was because Remy never personally hurt me the way you did. And as much as I wanted to keep hating you, I realized that I still care about you, Drago. When you got hurt protecting me, I-I thought I was going to lose you for good a-and I didn't want that!" she whispered, her eyes tearing up slightly. "My feelings for you haven't changed, Drago," she reaffirmed, lightly wiping her tears away without ruining her makeup, "because I still love you."

Drago's head perked up at the last part of her sentence. "What did you just say?" he asked, fearing that he didn't hear her correctly.

"I said I still love you. At first, I tried fighting it, tried telling myself over and over again how much I hated you, but no matter what, nothing could change the fact that I still love you."

Before Mala could utter another word, Drago closed the gap between them. He wrapped his strong arms around her slender waist, pulling her body close against his as he placed his lips on hers in a desperate and hungry, yet passionate and gentle kiss. Mala froze in shock for a moment, startled by his forwardness, but relaxed into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck and dug her fingers into his thick, spiky hair. When they finally parted, they both panted heavily, their lungs desperate for fresh oxygen. Mala giggled lightly as she wiped some of her lipstick off the corner of Drago's mouth.

"Sorry, I interrupted you," Drago realized.

"Oh, right. I was saying that I'm finally ready to forgive you and that I want to be with you," she smiled.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that," he said, returning her smile with one of his own. "I love you, Mala," he said, with an intense and serious gaze.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that," she repeated, moving in for another kiss.

When they finally reentered the gym to rejoin the party, Mavis noticed the pair holding hands. "Gasp! You're holding hands! They're holding hands! That means that you and he… and he and you!" Mavis beamed.

"I've forgiven Drago and we've decided to, well, date," Mala said simply.

"Awwwwww, this is the best night ever!" Mavis squealed in delight.

"Aside from you choking on a cupcake?" Liam asked.

"Eh, nothing's perfect. Besides, choking on a cupcake is my number five favourite way to die."

"Should I even ask what number one is?" Remy asked.

"Drowning in a chocolate fountain," she answered.

"You mean like that one they're setting up over there?" Remy pointed behind her to the other end of the gym.

Mavis gasped, "A chocolate fountain! Why didn't you point that out earlier!" she shouted, dashing off.

"Nice going, Remy," Liam remarked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know she'd react that way! Honest!"

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out as you go along," Tim assured him with a pat on the back.

The night went on as songs played one by one, some fast and then occasionally a slow one as couples paired up to dance together. Drago pulled Mala onto the dance floor while Mavis insisted Liam be her partner so she could show him how humans "boogy", as she put it. Even Tim managed to get a dance with a girl, while Remy had a whole line of girls he had promised to dance with, each eagerly waiting their turn with him. Eventually, the evening wound down as couples and friends began to slowly make their way home.

* * *

><p>However, not everyone was enjoying the night the way they were.<p>

"I was so close! I had those Coins in the palm of my hands, their powers were almost mine and then I was beaten by children and their little pet lizard! Those children will pay for embarrassing me like that," Wong muttered angrily. He moved over to his bookshelf, pulled out a thick tome from the shelves and opened it on a pedestal. He flipped through the pages, running his wrinkly finger across the pages in search for a specific passage. "Ah, here we go," he said as he carefully read the passage. "Yes… this will do perfectly," he grinned.

Wong gathered the ingredients he needed from his pantry as he began preparing the spell. Once it was ready, he set up the spell circle and began reciting the spell from the passage. The circle beneath him lit up as a large green gate and red, swirling vortex opened before him.

"I am Daolon Wong! Hear me!" he declared to the open portal. "I call upon the mighty Demon Sorcerers to serve me and exact my revenge!" As he finished his sentence, four beams of light colored gold, green, purple and blue shot out from the portal. They didn't linger for a second and disappeared out Wong's hideout and into the sky before scattering in different directions.

"Hey! Wait! Get back here!" Wong ordered futilely. "You're supposed to obey me! I set you free!"

"Demon Sorcerers take orders from no one, Daolon Wong. Why you would think yourself an exception to that is only a testament to your arrogance and arrogance is an unbecoming trait." Wong turned around to see a tall white-haired, blue-skinned woman with pink, blue, teal and black crystal armor and purple robes. She had a light blue orb in her hands and two large crystal wheels floating over her back.

"You…" Wong gasped, noting the similarities between this Sorceress and one of the children he fought.

"You've played your part, Daolon Wong and therefore, you are no longer needed. I thank you for setting me free. It was only a matter of time before I came back here," Lang Yan grinned. Before Wong could utter another word, Lang Yan dashed up to him and grasped his face with her large hand. Wong's muffled screams barely made it through her palm as he flailed and tried prying her fingers off him with his brittle hands. "Your story is concluded, Daolon Wong. I saw your short-lived victory and inevitable defeat at the hands of my daughter and her friends. Pathetic, if you ask me, which is why I won't feel bad about making sure you no longer present yourself a problem. You don't get to be the villain of this story anymore." Lang Yan's eyes glowed red briefly as Daolon Wong suddenly began crystallizing. The crystals spread from Lang Yan's hand before spreading across the rest of his body, his muffled screams going silent. Once the crystallization was complete, she released him and the crystal Daolon Wong fell to the ground. "You've had your fun in the spotlight, now it's my turn."

* * *

><p><strong>Arc 1 is officially complete! The Shadow Strikers may have defeated Daolon Wong, but the foolish old Dark Wizard has unleashed an even greater evil onto the world! Add me to your watch list, because Arc 2 will be in a separate story!<strong>

**I want to personally thank everyone who has left a comment on the story. It's been a great journey so far and I hope you'll continue with me and D-Sniper on this journey with our characters. So, I appreciate all the support and feedback ^^**


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